The Bond Between Brothers
by Infinite's Ruby
Summary: After failing to rescue Peach from Bowser's clutches in the Cloud Kingdom, an injured Mario is stranded in the Lost Kingdom. Just when a friend is captured by Klepto, Mario seeks help from the brother he knows best: Luigi. Will the two brothers be able to save Cappy from the Klepto's clutches?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note Well here I am back with a new story for you inspired by Super Mario Odyssey which is one of my favorite games in the series. Firstly, I'm well aware it's late for me to be writing up an idea for Mario Odyssey since it's been a little over a year since Odyssey's release, so why am I writing a story for it? _

_Well, the answer is because a recent playthrough of the game inspired this idea when Cappy gets kidnapped by the Klepto within the Lost Kingdom involving an injured Mario having to go save Cappy. While I liked the scene keep in mind Mario narrowly avoided being struck by the cannonballs, a small part of me couldn't shake the idea of an injured Mario even though he's been injured, it's his determination to save Cappy which keeps him going while being aided by Luigi. _

The main themes of this story will focus on the brotherly bond between Mario and Luigi along with the friendship Mario and Cappy have with each other. You'll see both themes coming into play many times throughout this story. _This will be one of my shorter stories consisting of eight chapters at the most._

_A thank you goes out to the Sensational SpiderDom 321 for helping me out with this story and the summary. He, as usual, was a great help with the editing process. Please check out his stuff; he's a talented writer as well with being a close friend of mine on the site. If you get the chance to check out his stories since I recommend them if you want great light-hearted humor along with fantastic interactions between the characters. _

_Disclaimer. I do not own Mario in _any way_, shape or form. Mario belongs to Nintendo. _

* * *

Under normal circumstances, the Cloud Kingdom was known by everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom as the most peaceful kingdoms on the planet. It was made up of several giant clouds, however, today was different. A pair of combatants were engaged in a fight. Mario darted around the arena putting some distance between himself and the King of the Koopas dodging a constant stream of fireballs racing across the cloudy arena to his location.

Mario winced taking a step after being struck by one of Bowser's fiery blasts during their fight, sprinting towards Bowser determined to end their fight. Mario landed the final blow on Bowser, the force of his final punch sent Bowser flying into the air allowing a grim smile of satisfaction watching the Koop King come crashing down onto the deck of his ship near Princess Peach.

Mario looked up at Peach her soft blue eyes gazing down at Mario a small relieved smile on her face while still holding the writhing bouquet of Piranha Plants a look of sadness in her eyes. Bowser lay still on the ship quietly groaning in pain.

Mario broke into a desperate sprint racing towards the ship. "Hold on Peach, this whole nightmare will soon be over!"

Like something out of his worst nightmares, Bowser rose to his feet a sinister smile splitting the Koopa's mouth as he eyed Mario like a shark staring at its prey before going in for the kill.

"Bye-bye Mario, have an explosive farewell on me," Bowser rumbled. "All cannon's open fire on this unwelcome wedding guest!"

"Mario look out!"

Mario turned around only to be nearly crushed by one of the falling cannonballs. On contact with the cloud layer, the metallic ball exploding and sending pieces of metal everywhere. The wave of heat nearly singed the hairs along Mario's mustache. Mario realized he needed to reach the safety of the Odyssey. His heart pumping, Mario forced his aching legs into a desperate sprint, leaping for the Odyssey's deck only to be struck by a cannonball the force of which sent him crashing into the Odyssey.

"No, Mario no!" Peach cried out in horror with Tiara screaming out for her brother.

With a sickening lurch, the Odyssey plummeted through the clouds, a trail of thick black smoke trailing behind the wrecked airship which plummeted down towards the ground crashing through several branches and kicking up dirt, rocks, and foliage.

At last the Odyssey's frantic plunge came to a stop amongst the foliage of the Lost Kingdom and coming to rest near the edge of a small plateau. Mario was the first one to exit the Odyssey wincing from the pain from his burns with Cappy right behind him.

Mario gazed around his surroundings his lips curled up in a small frown. They'd appeared to have crashed in a jungle. Thick palm trees reached up into the sky, the sound of birds tweeting far off in the distance. Mario heard a faint bubbling, to his right. Limping badly Mario peered over the edge of the plateau grimacing at the sight of the deep purple poisonous water bubbling from his vantage point.

"Do you have any idea where we are Cappy?" Mario asked.

Cappy entered the Odyssey coming back out with a small leaflet in his hands. "Hmm, according to this leaflet we're stranded in the Lost Kingdom. It's known as one of the more remote locations in the world. "People have tried to live here, but due to the hostile wildlife, poisonous swamp waters, and steep cliffs it became an impossible task. Only explorers may venture here if they have a special permit issued by the Mushroom Kingdom."

Feeling uneasy with Cappy's answer, Mario paced around anxiously, looking at the wrecked Odyssey resting on the ground. Thick black clouds of smoke were leaking from the surface of the ship, reaching upwards into the air. Mario felt Cappy leaving his head; the ghost ran a worried eye over to the Odyssey's exterior.

Neither of them spoke to each other, choosing to work in silence.

Mario stood up, ignoring a searing pain coming from his left leg. The fabric of the material burned away, leaving behind a nasty burn. The reddish tint was standing out against his pale skin. One thought lingered in his mind and it haunted him.

_So close, I was so close in saving both Peach and Tiara. _Mario thought to himself sadly. A tight knot of guilt formed in his stomach. While he was thankful, both he and Cappy were still alive, both Peach and Tiara were still up there in Bowser's clutches. With every precious second that passed, there was no doubt in the plumber's mind Bowser was one step closer to forcing Peach to marry him.

Thick black smoke, poured from the gaping hole along the top of the Odyssey's exterior, sparks jutted out several smaller holes where a cannonball had struck the exterior of the Odyssey. Cappy hovered closer to the Odyssey. Despite the Bonneton's calm demeanor, Mario still heard a low moan of despair escaping from Cappy, betraying the Bonnetons' distress.

"This is bad, We must find more Power Moons, to repair the Odyssey," Cappy said softly.

Mario trembled with emotion, his whole body shaking. "I'm sorry Cappy we could not rescue both Peach and Tiara. So close, if only I'd gotten on board Bower's ship sooner, then we would have rescued both Peach and Tiara by now."

"It's not your fault Mario. Bowser is far craftier than I assumed he would be," Cappy said. "Right now though I'm concerned about your injuries. You need to take a rest before we proceed any further."

"We must find more Power Moons, to fix the Odyssey," Mario's said his voice wavering. "Don't give up hope yet. we will save them."

* * *

Mario took a step forward biting down on his tongue and feeling a new burst of pain erupting from his right leg where his thigh had been burnt. The searing pain made him cry out almost stumbling to his knees before he forced himself to stand, shaking his head. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest at the sudden movement, but Mario pushed himself to his feet swaying slightly on his feet before setting off at a determined stride in search of more Power Moons.

"Mario stop! You need to rest!"

Mario felt Cappy slightly tugging at him, determined to stop the plumber. A glance over his right shoulder confirmed that the Bonneton was holding onto his uninjured arm preventing Mario from taking another step. Mario paused, noticing for the first time Cappy was trembling.

"I'm scared if you go out there in your condition - what if you get hurt or worse!" Cappy said his voice cracking with emotion.

Mario paused. He had never imagined that by pushing himself this recklessly, he would cause Cappy to worry. The Bonneton looked close to crying, raising his arms to wipe at his eyes and fighting to keep the tears from flowing down his face. Mario inhaled, making his way over to Cappy

"Listen, Mi amici, I'm sorry for making you worry like that," Mario said. "I promise you we will save both Tiara and Peach. I'll also find a clinic to rest and recover from my injuries."

Neither of them spoke until Cappy turned towards Mario again, raising a hand to wipe away the tears from his eyes. "Thank you, Mario, I think if we find locals here, there's bound to be a clinic where you can get your injuries treated."

Mario nodded silently. The duo headed back to the Odyssey holding onto a desperate hope nothing of importance had been destroyed. Both Mario and Cappy heaved a sigh of relief walking up the ramp of the ship. Mario pushed open the door happily noticing the interior of the ship hadn't been damaged in Bowser's attack.

Cappy leafed through the leaflets scattered on the table when one caught his eye.

"Hey, Mario! This person on the cover of this leaflet looks like you, but he's wearing green clothes, and he has a pack of balloons attached to his back!"

"Wait, green clothing?" Mario wondered to himself hurrying over to the table glancing down at the leaflet Cappy was holding. An image of Luigi was on the cover of the leaflet with a wide beaming smile. Attached to Luigi's back were a pack of balloons.

"That's my younger twin brother Luigi!" Mario exclaimed. "I wonder what he's doing with a pack of balloons?"

Mario soon got his answer scanning the leaflet's title. Coming soon to the Lost Kingdom is Luigi's balloon world! A fun new attraction for all the family.

"Huh, so this is the new attraction Weegie once mentioned he planned to set up before he left," Mario said. "Once we rescue your sister and Peach, we can try it sometime. It'll be good to see Luigi again."

"Ah! Just as I thought, there is a clinic here in this kingdom!" Cappy exclaimed. "It's going to be a hike to get to it though, as long as we don't run into any of the hostile creatures here, we should be just fine."

Mario and Cappy left the Odyssey walking down the ramp and heading back into the dense jungle. For a while, Cappy and Mario walked together in silence. A loud shriek shattered the peaceful silence. Mario tensed recognizing the cry and risking a glance at the sky until he spotted the source of the sound. A Klepto headed in their direction its gaze solely focused on Cappy.

"M-mario wh-hat is that?" Cappy stammered.

"A Klepto, Mi amici," Mario replied grimly. "I've encountered one before in Shifting Sand Land years ago. I almost lost my trusty cap to that thieving vulture. Stay close to me and whatever you do, don't make eye contact with the fiend."

The Klepto hovered in the air wings beating, eying up Cappy. For the briefest of moments, Mario saw a smirk gracing the bird's beak before it suddenly dived towards Mario forcing the plumber to duck at the last second, the whoosh of the air announcing the Klepto's missed attack. Mario's relief was short lived when the bird dived for him again.

The plumber rolled on the ground noticing the Klepto's attention wasn't on him.

"Mario! I think the Klepto's after me!" Cappy's terrified shriek cut through the air. Before Mario had time to react, the Klepto pounced on Cappy seizing him in his beak.

Mario felt a surge of adrenaline, propelling himself to his feet and breaking into a run and tackling the Klepto. The force of the impact sent both plumber and bird crashing to the ground.

"Let go, Cappy!" Mario shouted landing a punch on the bird's face which resulted in an annoying shriek. The bird glared at Mario, icily beating its wings twice to steady itself when it ascended into the sky before it let out another shriek and rapidly descended towards both Mario and Cappy.

Mario glowered at the bird choosing to ignore the pain breaking into a full on sprint towards the Klepto. "I won't let you take another one of my friends away from me!"

The Klepto appeared to be smirking. In one swift movement, the bird lunged out with one of its powerful wings, the force of the blow caught Mario of guard launching him against the nearest wall. Mario felt his right side colliding with the rock surface before crashing to the ground lying winded from the blow.

Cappy trembled to see the Klepto turning its sights on him. With the plumber out of the way, the bird grabbed Cappy in its talons flying away with its prize. Cappy shot one last look of despair at Mario lying sprawled on the ground glancing up, his heart sinking at the sight of Cappy in the Klepto's talons.

"Mario help me please!" Cappy's panicked scream cut through the air.

Wincing in pain Mario forced himself to stand to reach out with a hand resting against the wall, taking a step only to collapse to the ground again. He barely glanced up hearing Cappy's terrified screams on the breeze, growing fainter. Mario lay on the ground, his eyes beginning to close, feeling guilty he'd been unable to protect Cappy.

"Cappy, I'm sorry, mi amici," Mario whispered before he sank into unconsciousness lying sprawled on the ground.

* * *

Meanwhile heading down from the summit of the Lost Kingdom's peak, Luigi smiled, fiddling with his bowtie and reaching around his back making sure the balloon pack attached to his back was functioning correctly. Luigi sighed, feeling both nervous and excited at the same time So far he'd gotten a pair of curious Toads coming up to him their attention drawn to the balloon pack on his back.

"Hey, Luigi, what's up with the pack of balloons?" One of the Toads asked tilting his head to the side.

"It's for my new attraction Balloon World," Luigi said. "Basically, it's a game played between two people. One person has thirty seconds to hide a balloon in any spot they want. The second person has thirty seconds to find the balloon. It's based on a game Mario and I used to play as children. It's a fun game so I thought I would start with a smaller crowd, but I wasn't expecting this Kingdom to be so empty."

The two Toads exchanged a glance before one of them spoke up again. "There's a reason it's called the Lost Kingdom Luigi. There are not that many people here, due to the poisonous water and dangerous wildlife."

Luigi sighed, waving goodbye to the Toads and continuing his trek down the mountain making his way through the rainforest and keeping a wary eye out for any monsters lurking in the jungle's depths.

"Maybe coming out here alone, with a balloon pack attached to my pack probably wasn't the best idea," Luigi said to himself.

Lost in his thoughts, Luigi froze when he heard a low moan cutting through the air. Luigi quickly realized he wasn't alone. Feeling his heart rate increasing Luigi turned his head searching for the source of the noise.

"Hello is someone here?" Luigi asked nervously.

The plumber continued his trek through the jungle alone until he stopped in his tracks. His heart stilled. Not too far away from his location, Mario lay sprawled on his chest his eyes closed.

"Oh my gosh Mario!" what happened to you bro?" Luigi cried out in panic running over to Mario's position carefully turning him over. He held a hand in front of his mouth eying Mario's injuries in stunned silence. The pair of Toads following Luigi looked on in silence unable to believe the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom was this badly injured.

"Is M-Mario d-dead?" One of the Toads stammered.

Luigi bent down pressing an ear to his brother's chest. A sigh of relief escaped Luigi's lips upon hearing the faint heartbeat. "He's still alive, but he's badly hurt."

"I think there's a clinic not too far away from here Luigi," One of the Toads said unfurling a small map from the pack on his back. "It should be an hour's trek from here. I don't think Mario is looking so good."

"We'd better hurry then," Luigi said grimly, shrugging off the ballon pack, carefully setting it on the ground, before gently picking up Mario. "Hang in there, Fratello, you're going to be okay."

Luigi raced ahead of the Toads, gently cradling Mario hurrying towards the clinic in the faint hope somehow he could save Mario's life. In the near desolate Lost Kingdom, it would have to take a miracle for Mario to be saved. A mission Luigi was determined to carry out, he would save Mario, and nothing would deter him from doing so.

* * *

Author's_ note This first chapter turned out a lot differently than I originally envisioned it. Originally this was going to be a one-shot, but more ideas eventually built up inside of my mind, until I ended up the writing the plot for this whole story._

_Luigi will play a vital role in this story. I will not say what this role will be, but it will be a supportive one. Luigi will meet Cappy within the next few chapters of this story. There will be plenty of moments consisting of both Mario and Luigi supporting each other throughout this story since I want to put emphasis on their brotherly bond with each other. _

_As per usual I would love to hear constructive criticism/ suggestions and reviews on this one shot. As you know, I appreciate and welcome any form of feedback. Thank you for reading this._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note, First of all, I'm deeply sorry I was unable to make the promised release date for this chapter last week. My laptop froze on me after completing a Windows update, so I had to take it in for repairs which left me without a laptop for several days. I've also had writer's block when it came to this story. Again I sincerely apologize for the delay. _

_Special thanks to TGN, The SD321, and Tsukimine12 for leaving a review. I genuinely appreciate the support alongside with your feedback._

_Special thanks go out to everyone who viewed clicked the favorite/ follow button since we're already over ten favorites and nine follows along with over 180 views. Thank you all so much for the support. _

_Also, I want to say thanks to TGN, SD321, Tsukimine12, KitKatestar, SkyDragon Queen 17, and Keyblade Writer of the Dawn for favoriting and following this story. _

_Thanks go to Pkgamer, coswave and That oneobessedLinguist for leaving a follow along with a special shoutout__ to MGfan5, SpongeKrabs Plankton, Raizar and TriMusicaDrag00n90 for leaving favoriting this fic. I'm glad to see you're enjoying the story, and I genuinely appreciate the support. _

_A special shout out goes to The Sensational SpiderDom321, for helping me out with this chapter along with some of the dialogue. If you do get the chance, please do check out his stories. They're all great reads. He also gave me inspiration for an idea which you'll see later on in the story. __Thanks for your help my friend, if you ever need my help, I'm more then happy to give it to you._

_Disclaimer I don't own Mario or any of its characters used in this fic. It's copyrighted to Nintendo, and I don't own anything._

* * *

Luigi's group trekked through the dense undergrowth his breath coming out in quick, short breaths. Every so often Luigi would glance over his shoulder, to check on Mario's condition. The slight rise and fall of Mario's chest confirmed he was still breathing much to Luigi's relief.

"Mario's going to be fine, he's been through worse situations," Luigi said hoping to reassure himself. The raw panic of finding Mario lying sprawled on the ground shook him to the core. Like every resident in the Mushroom Kingdom, he was well aware of the long-standing grudge Bowser held against Mario for thwarting his multiple attempts to kidnap Princess Peach.

There was no doubt in Luigi's mind; Bowser had gotten the upper hand on his brother. the though Bowser had enacted his long sought after revenge on Mario leaving him to die. The thought of Mario dying left Luigi even more determined to save his brother's life.

"How far away is the clinic?" Luigi asked fighting to keep the tremor out of his voice.

"It should be a half hour's journey," One of the Toads replied unfolding a map. "It's a small clinic run by a skilled team of Toads. If anyone can help Mario, it'll be them."

Luigi nodded silently taking in the new information. He picked up his stride making sure Mario was comfortable, desperate to get to the clinic.

The sound of a snapping twig startled Luigi who pivoted on his heel. In that instant, Luigi broke into a sprint feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Luigi nearly stumbled a couple of times due to Mario's dead weight the pristine white building stood out against the jungle foliage.

"Almost there, Mario," Luigi said panting slightly from carrying Mario's dead weight. His thoughts turned to the Toads wondering how they were keeping up with his frantic sprint to the clinic. Luigi looked back over his shoulder seeing the pair of Toads falling further behind him struggling to keep up with Luigi's longer legs.

"Luigi, you need to wait up!" One of the Toads cried out. "We can't run as fast as you can!"

Luigi felt guilty at outrunning his Toad companions, so he slowed down allowing the Toads to catch up with him. The small group silently passed by several bushes Luigi froze hearing a twig crack turning his head towards the source of the bushes and his heart stilled when he caught a pair of red eyes glaring back at him. The Toads exchanged a look, before looking back at Luigi who held Mario gently.

"'We'll hold off whatever it is that's following you, Luigi!" One of the Toads said turning on his heel facing the bushes. A low rustle came from the bushes indicating something was approaching them. Much to the group's confusion, a small strange green humanoid creature leaped out of the bushes. A single spike protruded from its head holding up its hands in a grabbing motion slowly approaching the small group.

One of the Toads took several steps back, looking over at Luigi's pale face upon seeing two more of the strange creatures approaching them. Luigi doubted any of the strange creatures were friendly he reached out to steady Mario glancing over at the Toads while one of them looked ready to fight back.

"L-Luigi, wh- what d- do we do?" One of the Toads stammered."What are these things?"

One of the Toads flipped the map around his eyes scanning the text. "It says here they're called Trapeetles. They are aggressive and to be avoided at costs. Under any circumstances, do not throw your headgear at them, as it leads to a tragic display seen nowhere else in nature."

Luigi tensed hearing a low moan coming from his shoulder. A glance over his shoulder he met a pair of blue eyes beginning to open. Mario stirred his eyes flickering open before another low moan escaped his lips. In an instant, Mario slipped down Luigi's back standing on his own two feet, his knees trembling, before sinking to the ground.

"Mario, you need to take it easy!" Luigi cried out seeing Mario turning around to face him. Before Luigi reacted Mario flung his arms around Luigi hugging him tightly his face buried into Luigi's chest. Luigi returned the hug, feeling relieved Mario was awake at least. "Luigi, you have no idea how glad I am to see you right now," Mario said faintly. "How did you know where to find me?"

"We found you on the ground knocked out cold bro further back in the jungle," Luigi answered Mario's question eying the burns along Mario's arm. "I should be asking what happened to you, Mario?"

"It's a long story, Weegie," Mario answered his brother's query. "Bowser kidnapped Peach because he's forcing her to marry him and when I tried to save her, I was knocked off his ship so hard, I landed in this place called Bonneton. There, I met this hat named Cappy, who told me Bowser kidnapped his sister, Tiara. So, the two of us teamed up and began traveling from kingdom to kingdom, looking for these relics called Power Moons. When we caught up to Bowser in the clouds, we failed to save our loved ones and we crash-landed in this place. Shortly afterwards, that stinky vulture kidnapped Cappy and knocked me on my buttock."

"Yeah, it's good to see you're awake, Mario, but for now we have to run away from these guys since I don't think they're friendly!" One of the Toads cried out panic in his voice.

One of the Toads narrowly avoided being grabbed by one of the Trapeetles. Luigi took the time to weigh his options. He couldn't run the risk of Mario engaging these strange new enemies, possibly even getting killed, caused Luigi to shake his head. Their other option, of course, was to flee and reach the safety of the clinic.

"So, what are we going to do Mario?" One of the Toads asked trembling.

Mario remained silent staring at the approaching enemy approaching them it's hands making grabbing motions and idea formed in the plumber's mind. He turned his head looking for an outcropping or a small ledge, where either Luigi or one of the two Toads could climb up to where they would be safe.

"Weeg. Take off your hat, and toss it to the enemy," Mario spoke catching Luigi's attention. "Run to that ledge, and I'll help the Toads deal with the other two enemies."

Luigi turned to Mario shock registering on his features. "Mario, but what if you get hurt even more? If something were to happen to you, who would rescue Cappy? Or Princess Peach for that matter? No, I can't allow that to happen, you're my brother, if something happened to you, I would never forgive myself."

Mario looked up to see the small tears leaking out from Luigi's eyelids. Luigi silently clenched his fists; his whole body was trembling with emotion. Mario slowly removed his arm from around Luigi's shoulders reaching out to touch Luigi on his shoulder gently.

The small touch prompted Luigi to open his eyes making eye contact with Mario, smiling back at Luigi.

"I'm scared to Weegie, but please I promise you, I won't get hurt. That's a promise."

"Alright then, let's do this!" One of the Toads cried out.

Luigi allowed Mario to remove his arms from his shoulders limping over to the two Toads explaining the plan to them. Judging from the expressions of shock on their faces they weren't keen on the idea, until he saw them reluctantly nod in agreement slowly removing their turbans handing them off to the Mario, waving them like a flag in the air.

"Hey, you stinky pair of beetles!" Mario shouted. "Let's see if you can catch these hats!"

In one swift movement, Mario tossed the Turbans through the air. Two of the Trapeetles leaped into the air catching them in before landing back on the ground. They began to flash red several times before they charged forward heading straight for Mario and the Toads narrowly climbing up onto the ledge watching the enemies explode in the small ball of flame.

Luigi heard the tread of the enemies' footsteps walking across the soil coming closer and closer to Luigi, and its hands extended ready to grab Luigi at any second. Luigi tensed reaching up for his hat tossing it at the enemy watching it soar in an arc the last Trapeetle jumped up to grab it.

"Run Luigi!"

Luigi broke into a run hearing the strange beeps coming from the enemy he ran to where Mario and the Toads were jumping high into the air. The tips of his fingers gripping onto the edge of the ledge, Mario and the Toads were standing on. Mario bent down ignoring the stab of pain traveling down his arm, pulling Luigi on to the edge hearing the dull boom the enemy made as it collided with the wall the force of the impact nearly jostled Luigi from his position.

"Is everyone okay?" One of the Toads asked glancing down at the ground noticing the cap and turbans lying on the ground slightly burned from the enemies colliding into the wall. Luigi turned to face Mario smiling back at him with a warm smile reassuring his brother he was okay.

"I'll help you down," Luigi spoke slinging his arm around Mario's shoulder helping him climb down the cliff making sure Mario kept a steady grip until their feet touched the ground with Luigi making sure to support Mario seeing the small smile appear on Mario's face.

"You see Weeg? I didn't get hurt like I said I would fratello," Mario said smiling before it faded away into a frown glancing over his shoulder at the jungle in the distance. "I sure hope Cappy's doing okay, and that no harm's come to him."

"We'll rescue him, Mario," Luigi said hoping to reassure Mario. "I haven't met him personally, but if he's anything like your previous companions such as Goombella, Flurrie, Koops, and Vivian, then he'll be okay."

A quick smile appeared on Mario's face, Luigi could tell Mario was still concerned for both Cappy and Princess Peach and Tiara, but he was still determined to press on ahead to rescue both of them.

"You're right Luigi, as soon as I'm healed, rescuing Cappy will be the very first thing I do and I want my bro at my side when I do so."

Luigi saw the warm smile appearing on Mario's face and he slung a gentle arm around Mario's shoulder holding him steady the two of them reached the ground safely hurrying over to where their headwear lay on the ground.

Of the strange creatures who'd attacked them only a few fragments of green metallic skin remained, along with a few severed fingers. Luigi stepped forward awkwardly bending to pat out the few small flames flickering along the edge of his cap.

"Well, I hope nothing else crazy happens here," Luigi said glancing around the area wearily. The last thing any of them needed was to come under attack from any more of the Lost Kingdom's hostile wildlife.

A scream filled the air. One of the Toads picked up his burned turban covered in ash along with a small flame flickering on his headwear. "Aw man, this was one of my favorite turbans too."

Picking up their scorched caps the Toads hurried over to Mario and Luigi. Luigi turned to face Mario, who began to walk with a slight limp until Luigi ducked under his brother's arm steadying him.

"Thanks, Weegie, I'm glad you're here, but what about Balloon World?"

"I can focus on that later," Luigi said. "Right now, getting you to the clinic is more important, then Balloon World."

The small group hurried to the clinic while praying all the while they wouldn't run into any more of the Lost Kingdom's more hostile creatures.

* * *

Darkness, everything and everywhere hurt. Cappy stirred slightly letting out a low moan sitting upright rubbing at the top of his head. Wincing the Bonneton glanced around his surroundings ignoring the sense of dread, his hand resting on the wooden straw surface underneath his hand.

"Where am I?" Cappy asked himself.

Cappy approached the edge of the nest. There was no sign of Mario anywhere at all. Closing his eyes, Cappy reflected on his conversation with Mario before the Klepto ambushed them, Mario's valiant effort to save him, his last desperate cry for Mario's help. A shriek caught his attention, followed by heavy wingbeats.

The sound prompted Cappy to freeze seeing the Klepto winging into the sky, before it dived towards him it's talons extended forcing the Bonneton to flatten himself against the rough, scratchy straw feeling the gush of air rushing over his back hearing the Kelpto shriek in pure furcation at having missed its target.

Cappy hovered into the air coming face to face with the Klepto diving down towards him again talons bared ready to drive into the Bonneton. Cappy narrowly avoided the second strike hearing the frustrated shriek coming from his tormentor seeing it ascend into the skies once more folding back its wings racing towards Cappy extending its talons waiting for the moment to sink them into Cappy.

The Bonneton quickly began to form a plan in his mind, quickly diving towards the ground the sound of the Klepto's wing beats signaled the Klepto was getting closer to him. The Bonneton drove a hand down into the muddy soil picking up a clump of dirt.

"This is for Mario, you feathered bully!"

In one swift motion, Cappy threw the clump of dirt right into the Klepto's eyes. The bird shrieked recoiling beating its wings, shaking its head from side to side, raising it's left wing, wiping away the soil from its eyes. It succeeded in its task before shooting a death glare at Cappy.

The Klepto shrieked once more ascending to the sky, soaring above the densely packed trees waiting patiently for its chance to grab Cappy.

Under the dense foliage, Cappy crouched down pressing close to the dirt his eyes trained on the shape of the Klepto lazily flying overhead. Cappy lowered one of the branches hearing the flapping of the Klepto's wings. Cappy shivered hugging himself hearing the angry shriek in the distance, serving as a reminder the Kelpto would be waiting for Cappy to leave his makeshift shelter.

"Mario, please be okay," Cappy said glancing through a small gap in bushes. "I know you're still alive. Until we meet again I'll be brave and I won't be that buzzard's prisoner again."

* * *

Half an hour later, Luigi's group finally arrived at the clinic. The moon slowly rose into the sky, the moon's rays illuminating the foliage around everyone's relief they hadn't run into any more of the hostile wildlife, hearing the doors to the clinic opening with a whoosh, the small bell announcing to the sleeping receptionist, optional patients had arrived.

"Ahh! Welcome to the Lost Kingdom clinic, how can I help you..." The receptionist trailed of taking in Mario's condition, the tried expressions on Luigi's and the Toads' faces.

"No way is that Mario?!" The receptionist exclaimed unable to hide back her shock. "What happened to him?!"

"I fought Bowser since he's kidnapped Peach again and I got a little careless," Mario said gesturing to his burns. "Not to mention, my friend was taken by one of the local Kleptos."

"Oh my gosh, that's awful. The doctor will see you now, to get your injuries treated," The receptionist said her eyes wide with shock reaching for the phone on the desk speaking urgently into it. Several minutes passed until the receptionist faced Mario with an anxious smile on her face. "The doctor will see you now Mario. He's through the doors, down the hallway to your first left."

Mario turned to Luigi the Toads sank into the plastic chairs exhausted talking to each other relieved

"I hope you're going to be okay Mario," Luigi said holding tightly onto Mario's hand. "Once you're better, we will find Cappy and we're going to save him"

"I'll be fine Luigi," Mario said with a gentle smile hoping to reassure Luigi. "We're unstoppable together, no matter what happens."

Luigi let go of Mario's hand while continuing to help Mario walk down the hallway until they reached the doctor's office. The doctor opened the door with his assistant at his side. The doctor's calm expression faded when he saw the burns along Mario's arms with Mario's right arm draped across Luigi's shoulders.

"Oh my! Is that fiend Bowser's handiwork?!" The doctor exclaimed in shock.

"The burns are Bowser's work," Mario admitted. "The other injuries were inflicted by one of the local Kleptos."

"Oh my, you've been through a lot," The doctor said examining one of the burns along Mario's arms. "These look like to be first degree burns, and I don't think any of these wounds are serious. Luigi can wait back in the reception with his Toad companions."

"Are you sure, his injuries aren't serious?" Luigi asked.

"No, they don't appear to be serious," The doctor answered Luigi's question. "Luigi, I promise you Mario is going to be okay."

"I'll be fine Luigi," Mario said with a kind smile hoping the gesture would reassure his brother. "We're a team and nothing is ever to come between us."

"You've never broken a promise to me and I know you're not going to any time soon."

Luigi watched Mario entering the doctor's office before turning on his heel heading back to the reception sinking into the plastic chair. Luigi finally sighed in relief. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest. His brother was safe. He wasn't going to die. Luigi exhaled a sigh looking at the pair of the Toads slumped together sleeping in the chair, the sound of their soft snores filled the room.

Luigi turned a glance over to the window leaning back in the hard plastic chair, his eyes already closing from exhaustion. He glanced out at the window seeing the moon's rays come streaming in through the doors. Luigi soon fell into a gentle slumber sitting upright against the hard plastic chair. He vowed to do everything he could to help Mario save Cappy.

* * *

_Author's note This chapter's come to a close, and it was a bit of a challenge to write because this chapter went through several rewrites. I was unsure whether or not Mario should remain unconsiousness and if Cappy should be recaptured. I asked the Sensational SpiderDom 321 for his advice. He suggested Mario should remain conscious so he could have some moments showcasing his bond with Luigi and Cappy being caught by Klepto again would've come off as lazy. Thank you again for your help, my friend._

_Even though Cappy is the Klepto's prisoner, for now, it was never my intention to have him sit around playing the role of the prisoner, that does nothing until their rescue arrives which I decided to have Cappy fight back against his captor. It won't be the last time Cappy is going to fight back against the Klepto. You'll have to wait and see how Cappy's rescue is going to play out._

_Several references were made to Mario's partners from both the original Paper Mario and Paper Mario the Thousand year door. I've never played these games, but I do like the Paper Mario series and it's been on my mind for a while to make a reference to them._

_As per usual constructive criticism/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix/ thoughts and reviews are welcomed. Thank you for reading and I will see you guys with the next chapter on May 10th. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note. First, of all to clear up any confusion, yes this story has undergone a title change. The reason for the change is becuase there was another story on the site with the same name. I apologize for any confusion I unintentionally cuased._

_Hey guys, I hope all of you had a great_ week and are doing well. I've _been busy with helping my family preparing to move from our home into a temporary one, due to our house getting renovated, resulting in a move which lasted three days. __I'm sorry for the delay with the chapter and I hope people enjoy the chapter._

_I want to say thanks to animegamefanatic, TGN and Tsukinine 12 for leaving a review. Thank you for the feedback, support, and the motivation to keep going with this story._

_The last special shoutout along with a thank you goes to animegamefantatic, and Fanfic BOOM- a- Latta for favoriting and following this story. Also, special thanks go to Wurmple and Pikmin fan for favoriting this story. A thank you also goes to CloudySkies1756 for leaving a follow on this story. Thank you all so much for the support, it does mean a lot to me._

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/ settings used in this story. They are copyrighted to Nintendo._

* * *

Under the glow of the midnight moon, the creatures roaming the Lost Kingdom's depths were usually fast asleep in a peaceful slumber, conserving their energy for the next day. Within the small clinic situated in the middle of the jungle, most of the occupants inside the clinic were sound asleep except for a few dedicated members of the night staff. The receptionist was fast asleep at her desk. The pair of Toads seated in the plastic chairs were fast asleep with blankets draped over their laps.

Luigi leaned back in the chair with a blanket draped across his lap looking up at the clock stationed on the wall displaying 12:00 AM on its screen. His silent concentration was broken as he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, Luigi made eye contact with the nurse standing next to him.

"Mr. Luigi, I can assure you Mario's not going anywhere," The receptionist said. "I'm sure you must be exhausted. Please do try to get some rest."

"I will. I can't even believe it's that late already," Luigi replied with a nervous chuckle.

The nurse beamed at the plumber before heading off to her duties. Luigi yawned beginning to doze off, leaning further back in the chair. The gentle rise and fall of the plumber's chest indicated Luigi was in a peaceful slumber.

* * *

The flames flickered to life on top of the small torches perched along the edge of the bridge suspended high above a vast pool of lava. Luigi glancing up at the tall, dark walls noticed the bridge was in a big open area in the middle of Bowser's Castle. Banners hung from the castle's windows each depicting an image of Bowser.

"How did I even get to Bowser's Castle?" Luigi asked himself looking at his surroundings in confusion. "That's not possible. Wasn't I just in the Lost Kingdom?"

Luigi didn't have the time to wonder how he'd ended up at Bowser's Castle, after hearing the unmistakable sound of an angry roar in the distance.

"That sounds like Bowser's roar!" Luigi exclaimed. "I hope nothing bad's happened to you, Bro."

Without hesitation, Luigi sprinted along the stone bridge. After what felt like an eternity, Luigi arrived at the other end of the bridge, feeling the exhaustion finally catching up with him. The plumber bent over, gasping for breath, his hands on his knees. After several minutes of catching his breath, Luigi looked up to be greeted with the sight of Bowser and Mario staring each other down, with the latter sporting a burn on his right leg.

Neither of them seemed to have noticed Luigi's presence. Mario avoided a punch from Bowser by ducking underneath his arm, pivoting around to face Luigi his eyes widening in shock upon seeing Luigi standing there staring defiantly at Bowser.

"Luigi, thank goodness you're here!" Mario said. "Did you happen to find where Bowser's keeping Peach?"

"I'm not going to abandon you when you're in danger, Mario," Luigi replied firmly. "As to answer your second question, no, I haven't. I could've sworn we were in the Lost Kingdom a few seconds ago, after I brought you to the clinic. Do you have an idea of what's going on?"

"You must be having a dream bro," Mario said softly. "I think even after you rescued me, you're still worried for me, and I think your fears about something bad happening to me is what brought on this dream."

For several moments Bowser observed the exchange between brothers before a low chuckle escaped from his mouth, amused by the situation in front of him. "Well, it looks like Greenie's come to the rescue," Bowser said smirking. "Too bad for him, you're going to be charbroiled by the time I'm done with you Mario. It doesn't matter if this is a dream or not; I'm going to defeat both of you pesky plumbers once and for all."

Mario attempted to dart around Bowser to reach Luigi, only for the Koopa King to block him. Bowser tried to punch Mario but only for the plumber to duck under his arm at the last moment causing Bowser to stumble crashing down onto the stone surface of the bridge which caused the whole bridge to shake from the movement.

The force of Bowser's landing caused both Mario and Luigi to lose their balance for several seconds until the tremor faded away. A cackle filled the air prompting both brothers to look up spotting the Clown Car hovering above him. Morton and Ludwig peered over the edge of the vehicle with wicked grins plastered on their faces. In between them, Mario saw Peach sitting between Morton and Ludwig with her head bowed, unwilling to make eye contact with either one of her captors.

"Let the Princess go right now!" Mario demanded glaring at the Koopalings.

"Now, why would we do that?" Ludwig asked with a grin. "Besides, both you and your brother won't have much time left to live. As for your precious princess, she's not going anywhere. She's our guest of honor."

Ludwig turned to nudge Peach in the side with his elbow which prompted Peach to rise from where she was sitting on Morton's right side. Her hands were tied behind her back preventing her from escaping. Peach made eye contact with both Mario and Luigi smiling upon seeing both brothers.

"Mario, Luigi, thank goodness, you're both alright!" Peach said relief creeping into her voice.

"Don't worry Princess, Luigi and I will defeat Bowser together and we're all going to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom," Mario replied hoping to lift Peach's spirits. "Luigi, can you keep Morton and Ludwig busy? In the meantime, I'll deal with Bowser."

"If you're so eager to die, Mario, I'd be more then happy to fulfill that request!" Bowser taunted Mario with a malicious grin. The Koopa King charged, towards them his footsteps causing the bridge to shake again. Mario ran to meet Bowser head on determined to keep him away from Luigi.

Luigi heard the familiar sound of a magic wand being charged up. Ludwig swung his wand downwards, unleashing a stream of colored magic racing towards Luigi, who jumped over the blast of magic landing on the bridge turning to face the Koopalings.

Scowling at having failed to strike his target, Ludwig turned to face Morton. "Morton, I trust you know what you have to do."

"It will be done," Morton replied leaping from the Clown Car and landing on the ground several meters away from Luigi. The force of his landing knocked Luigi off his feet allowing Morton to grab Luigi's left arm and twisting the limb behind his back. Luigi cried out in pain, sinking to his knees. Morton grinned sinisterly at his prisoner, before glancing over at Bowser seeking his father's approval. "I've got him pinned Dad."

Bowser paused in his assault on Mario, noticing Luigi trapped in Morton's embrace. "Good job, Morton! Keep a tight hold on him, until I've dealt with Mario!"

Luigi sank to his knees, unable to cope with the pain traveling through his arm. Ludwig jumped out of the Clown Car walking over to the stricken plumber.

"Look at this, Mario's pathetic brother lies sprawled at our feet," Ludwig sneered. "Even though he'll never admit it out loud, I'm willing to bet Mario is ashamed to have such a coward for a brother. You're doomed to spend the rest of your life in Mario's shadow, like the coward you are."

Luigi swallowed hard. He wasn't going to deny Mario was far braver than he ever could be. Taking a shaky breath, Luigi continued to struggle to free himself, ignoring the stabbing pain traveling down his arm. He wouldn't freeze in place, not when Mario was in danger.

"Don't listen to them, Luigi!" Mario cried out. The plumber stomped hard on Bowser's foot, resulting in an angry roar from Bowser. "You're not a coward, Luigi. You saved me twice from King Boo. You're a hero just as much as I am. Don't let Bowser's words demoralize you."

"I can understand you're scared for me," Luigi said. "It's true, I was a coward in the past, but I'm not going to let anything happen to my Fratello. Not while I'm still breathing. If I have to die, then so be it, only just to make sure my brother remains safe."

"Luigi plea-"

Whatever Mario had been about to say was cut off by Bowser running towards Mario which in turn resumed the fight between Mario and Bowser.

Twisting around as much as his body would allow him, Luigi yanked his right arm free, landing a swift punch to Morton's nose resulting in a gasp of pain from the Koopaling. Luigi sprinted down the bridge aware of both Koopalings pursuing him.

Heart hammering away in his chest, Luigi ran towards Bowser and Mario. The sight before him caused him to freeze. Bowser punched Mario sending the plumber sprawling onto the ground, landing dangerously close to the edge of the bridge.

Luigi's hesitation allowed both Ludwig and Morton to grab both of his arms holding him in place grinning. Luigi angry with himself being caught twice struggled to break free of their grip. Bowser's chuckle sent chills down his spine.

"Greenie is too scared to save anyone," Bowser sneered. The King of the Koopas ignoring Luigi's plight turned to face the red-clad plumber sprawled out at his feet. "Mario, on the other hand, he's been a thorn in my side for far too long."

Luigi's eyes widened upon realizing what Bowser intended to do. "Mario, get up, bro! Please run for it!"

In an instant, Bowser opened his mouth sending a stream of reddish-orange flames in Mario's direction. Mario quickly got to his feet, jumping to avoid the stream of fire landing on Bowser's left, barely avoiding getting burned by the flames.

However, it was a move Bowser anticipated. Bowser swung his tail striking Mario the force of the impact sent Mario flying off the bridge. All Luigi could hear was Mario's pain filled scream splitting the air followed by silence.

Luigi froze in horror upon coming to the realization Mario was dead. His whole body began to tremble with pent up grief and anger dimly aware of Morton and Ludwig, releasing their grip on him chuckling in sadistic glee upon seeing Luigi's suffering.

"Noooo, Mario!" Peach's grief-filled scream filled the air. The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom sank to her knees in the Clown Car, her sobs carrying through the air.

"Look at that!" Bowser exclaimed, enjoying his long sought-after revenge. "Now that is how you deal with a pesky plumber!"

Bowser began to chuckle along with Morton and Ludwig taking glee in Mario's death.

Luigi stood up feeling the angry tears flowing down his face. Taking several shaky breaths Luigi urged his legs to move, breaking into a fast sprint, running right at Bowser, landing a punch against the Koopa King's right leg.

"That was for my brother, you monster," Luigi snarled his grief forgotten for the moment.

Silence fell over the area. Morton and Ludwig stopped laughing and fell silent. Luigi couldn't shake the feeling he'd just signed his death warrant. Ever so slowly, Bowser turned around, his movements slow and deliberate glaring at Luigi.

"Ouch, you know I barely even felt that punch, Greenie," Bowser said mockingly. "It felt more like a tap to me."

Before Luigi could even move, Bowser's fingers grabbed his arm, sinking his claws deep into Luigi's skin and hoisting him into the air before dropping Luigi to the ground. "The best part of this whole thing is that Green Stache was too much of a coward to save Mario. I think I'll keep you on as my Court Jester. Your job will be to entertain my kids, but you do need to be punished for punching me."

Wincing, Luigi shakily got to his feet. Turning his head briefly, Luigi caught a glimpse of Peach sitting in the Clown Car with tears running down her face. A hard shove sent Luigi sprawling to the ground landing hard on his back. He heard Bowser inhaling before a stream of fire erupted out of Bowser's mouth engulfing Luigi's right arm and causing him to scream in pain.

* * *

In a blind panic, Luigi's blue eyes snapped open as Luigi shot out of his chair, with a panicked scream waking the two Toads who nearly fell out of their chairs. The receptionist jolted awake, racing from behind her desk to check on Luigi concern in her eyes. Luigi stood up panting his eyes wide with fear rolling back his right sleeve, examining his arm checking for any traces of burns only to sigh in relief looking down at the unblemished skin having found no traces of the burn inflicted on his pale skin.

"Mr. Luigi! Are you alright?" The receptionist exclaimed.

The plumber's breathing became calmer, his heart rate beginning to slow down. Luigi scanned the reception area with its white walls labeled with various posters. The plumber couldn't help but feel relieved it had been just a nightmare.

"I'm sorry, for waking everyone," Luigi admitted. "You wouldn't mind if I saw Mario? The thing is I had a nightmare, Bowser h-he- k-killed Mario and I couldn't do a thing to save him. Please, I want to make sure he's okay."

Luigi saw the Toads' faces go pale, gazing back at him with horror from hearing Mario died in his nightmare. The receptionist spoke into the comm unit on her desk her face set into a tight frown until another voice coming from the speaker reassured her.

"If you're quiet, you can see him," The receptionist informed Luigi. "Only for five minutes, Mario does need his rest."

Luigi nodded, feeling grateful at being allowed to see his brother. The nurse escorted him down the hallway, as the door opened allowing Luigi to enter the small room. Much to his surprise, Mario wasn't asleep. The plumber was wide awake sitting upright in the bed trembling, the small beads of sweat appearing on Mario's' forehead with tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

"Weegie, oh, thank goodness!" Mario whispered, pulling Luigi into a gentle hug.

"Mario, did you have a nightmare?"

"Yes, I did Weegie," Mario admitted. "Bowser had you trapped in a cage along with Cappy and Tiara, and he was hanging it attached to a small crane over a pit of lava. I tried to save you, but Kamek and Bowser Jr. slowed me down with a barrage of magical spells. Bowser kept taunting me, by calling me all sorts of names, and before I could stop him, he ordered Kamek to drop the cage into the lava..."

Mario's trembled unable to continue recounting his nightmare. Luigi instantly reached for his hand gently taking it in his own, squeezing it gently. The gesture seemed to calm Mario down, the tears leaking from his eyes.

"Weegie, if something ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do," Mario admitted his voice catching on a sob. "You've had a nightmare to, I can tell."

"I did Mario, it was awful," Luigi admitted. "I dreamed Bowser had Peach captured and you were rushing to save her. I tried to help you out, but Ludwig and Morton held me back. Bowser knocked you off the bridge. Shortly afterward, he forced me to be his court jester, then he burned my arm."

Mario remained silent for a few moments raising his hand to wipe away the small tears slipping down his face. "Luigi, I couldn't do a thing to save you. I'd never felt so helpless before in all my life."

"During my nightmare, I felt the same way," Luigi said softly. "I know I'm not as brave as you are, but you're still my bro and I'll help you rescue Cappy while teaching that stupid buzzard not to mess with my brother."

Mario smiled upon hearing his brother's words. "Thanks, Luigi, together, we can do anything."

The two brothers smiled feeling content they would always have each other's support.

"I've meant to ask you, how did you even travel from Kingdom to Kingdom?" Luigi queried.

"To answer your question, Luigi, Cappy and I have this ship called the Odyssey. It's our ship which we use to travel around the world," Mario answered Luigi's question. "It got damaged when we confronted Bowser in the Cloud Kingdom, causing us to crash land here. Thankfully, it's still in one piece."

A creak of the door announced the nurse silently entered the room. She turned to face the Mario brothers a small apologetic smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luigi, but your five minutes are up. Mario does need his rest; I'll escort you back to the reception," The nurse said. "I can assure you, Mr. Luigi, you'll have plenty of time to speak with Mario tomorrow morning."

Luigi nodded walking away from Mario, facing him once more his hand resting on the doorknob "I'll see you in the morning. Good night, Mario. I hope you dream about diving into a big bowl of spaghetti."

Mario chuckled in amusement offering a kind smile to Luigi. "Good night, Luigi, I hope you have a good night's sleep and no more bad dreams."

The nurse tapped Luigi on his elbow, prompting Luigi to exit the room, leaving Mario to lie back in his bed. The Plumber glanced out of the window looking at the night sky. The plumber wouldn't sleep until he knew Cappy was safe. Hopefully, Cappy was safe for the time being having found somewhere to hide from the Klepto.

"Hang in there, Cappy," Mario said softly hoping Cappy was indeed safe. "The second I'm out of this clinic, we're going to save you. Peach, please hang in there for a little while longer. Cappy and I will rescue both you and Tiara."

Mario stifled a yawn before beginning to doze off allowing his head to rest against the pillow. It didn't take long for the plumber to fall asleep into a gentle slumber holding onto the hope by having Luigi by his side he would be able to rescue Cappy, Peach and Tiara.

* * *

Meanwhile high in the skies, Bowser's ship flew above the clouds. All was quiet on the main deck of the ship except for Bowser pacing back and forth on the deck of the ship. Peach found herself being escorted by Hariet and Wendy who kept a tight grip on her arms, forcing her to walk towards Bowser standing alone on the deck, his arms folded across his chest.

"So, why am I being escorted this late at night to see Bowser?" Peach asked, keeping her tone calm.

"Daddy wants to speak with you," Wendy said smirking. "That fat ugly rabbit is busy fussing over the Soiree Bouquet we stole from the Wooded Kingdom."

"Our boss, ain't fat, nor is she ugly!" Hariet retorted. "She trusts us to handle the business however we see fit. Besides, I doubt you and your seven brothers can even handle planning a wedding since they probably share a brain between them."

"Oh, shut up!" Wendy snarled. "At least Ludwig and Larry are smarter than your dumb brothers. We're able to plan a far better wedding than you ever could in your sleep."

"You're jealous because you ain't the center of attention of this wedding," Hariet replied with a smug grin. "Now the princess here is far more beautiful; then you could ever hope to be."

Wendy angered by the remark turned to glare at Hariet. "That's not true, the Lochlady Dress, doesn't even look right on the ugly Princess, it looks-"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Bowser's enraged shout echoed over the deck. "Do both of you have any idea of how stressful planning a wedding is?"

"Daddy, the mean rabbit started it!" Wendy protested jabbing a finger at Hariet. "She called my hoop rings fake, and she also called Peach ugly!"

"That's a lie!" Hariet snarled angered by Wendy's comment. "I reckon your daughter's upset because she ain't the star of the wedding!"

"I don't care who started it!" Bowser bellowed. "I need both of you to stay here, to escort my future wife back to her room. Once you're done with that, go down below deck, to help Larry, Lemmy, and Madame Broode plot a course for the Metro Kingdom. We need to spread the news of our happy union to every single Kingdom on the planet!"

Hariet and Wendy wisely didn't say anything, not wanting to anger Bowser any further. Both of them glared at each other silently. Peach turned to face Bowser, keeping her hands still at her sides.

"There's no way that pesky plumber is going to catch up to us," Bowser gloated placing a couple of claws underneath Peach's chin tilting her head up, forcing Peach to look at him. "Now then, even if Mario survived the crash landing, I sent Kamek back to the Lost Kingdom with orders that if he finds Mario, he's to report back to me at once. Mario is injured and weak; that's when I'll send Bowser Jr, Lemmy and Larry to finish him off."

"There's no way I'd ever marry you," Peach said icily. "You're the most repulsive reptile, I've ever met. You will never be King of the Mushroom Kingdom, and I won't force my subjects to accept you as their king. You're nothing, but a loathsome reptile Sooner or later, Mario will come to save us."

"Whatever Princess, we're going to have the perfect wedding imaginable," Bowser said with a nasty grin. "Once my children get through with him, Mario won't live to see another day."

Bowser stomped away chuckling to himself, the heavy tread of his footsteps fading away across the wooden boards. Tiara hovered next to Peach examining her face seeing the single tear slipping down her face.

"Peach, please don't give in to your despair," Tiara said, hoping to reassure Peach. "I'm sure Mario is still alive. From what you've told me, he's brave, strong and kind-hearted. Don't listen to that monster's lies. You know Mario will come to rescue the both of us."

The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom slowly wiped away her tears before looking back at Tiara with a sad smile. For far too long, she'd played the role of damsel in distress. Time after time she'd allowed Bowser to kidnap her. In that instant Peach realized, by letting Bowser kidnap her over the years, it made her look like a weak ruler.

"No, I know Mario's still alive," Peach said softly keeping her voice low. "I've played the role of damsel in distress for far too long. Tiara, we're going to find a way to take over this ship, we're going to head back to the Lost Kingdom and we'll save both Mario and Cappy in the process."

"I'll do anything I can to help you Peach," Tiara said softly. "I want to make that monster pay for what he did to the Cap Kingdom and separating me from my brother."

Peach smiled and nodded, allowing Tiara to rest on her head. For the first time in what felt like days, Peach smiled walking serenely along the deck of the ship, allowing Hariet and Wendy taking her by the arms leading back to her room. She didn't know how, but for both her's and Tiara's sakes, she would find a way to escape Bowser's clutches.

* * *

_Author's note. Firstly, I had every intention of making this chapter a calm before the storm chapter. I'm aware that not a lot happened in this chapter, but trust me things will be picking up soon._

_For those who are curious, Luigi's nightmare sequence was inspired by a dream I had. It focused on the idea of Luigi and Mario making a stand against Bowser in an attempt to rescue Peach. For those people wondering yes, Mario did fall off the bridge. Originally I did plan to show Mario falling into the lava, but I decided to scrap the idea since I didn't want to upset people, especially younger readers._

_Princess Peach will have a role to play within this story. While I do like Peach, if there's one thing I can't stand about her character is most of the time she plays the role of the damsel in distress. Even though she may be Bowser's prisoner, she is not going to sit around and do nothing. Peach will be fighting back in her way, which is a plot that will play out over the next few chapters._

_When it came to writing up the draft to this story I did have plans for the Koopalings to show up since there will be more interactions between the Koopalings and the Broodals within the next chapter. In case people are wondering how the Koopalings are here, it's because they boarded Bowser's ship before it left Bowser's Kingdom. _

_Even though he didn't make an appearance in this chapter, we will see Cappy in the next one as it's going to focus on Mario and Luigi saving him from the Klepto. All I can say about the next one there will be a heartwarming reunion involved. There will be some well-earned payback against the Klepto._

_As per usual thoughts/ constructive criticism/ any accidental errors, I need to fix/ reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. Thanks for reading, I genuinely appreciate your support and I will be back to talk to you guys soon with the next chapter, being released on the eleventh of June._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note Hey guys, I'm back and I hope all of you have had a great week so far. Here's the next chapter here for you guys. Since we're at the halfway point of this story, I would like to give a special shoutout and thanks to everyone who favorited, followed or by even viewing this story since it now has reached sixteen favorites, eleven follows and over seven hundred and fifty views!_

_Thank you all so much for the support, you guys are the best._

_Special thanks go to animegamefanatic, TGN, The Sensational Spider Dom321 and Tsukimine 12 for leaving reviews, so as usual; thank you for your support and giving me the motivation to continue this story._

_A special shout out and thanks go to Red. Rosessss for leaving a favorite on this story. Thank you for your support. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. _

_Special thanks go to The Sensational SpiderDom321 for helping me out with a scene in this chapter. He is a great writer and has written some great stories on the site such as Awakened, A Super Mario Odyssey Adventure and Sonic Heroes the Atom Bomb. If you get the chance to check out his stories, they're great reads._

_Without any further ado, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, settings or locations in general everything in this fic is copyrighted to Nintendo._

* * *

The rays of the early morning sun filtered in through the palm fronds which caused Cappy to stir from a restful slumber. Within the small clearing, the Bonneton looked up at the thick palm fronds which acted as a barrier preventing the Klepto from reaching him.

"The Klepto is probably still out there," Cappy said. "I can't believe three days have passed, ever since I got separated from Mario. No, I refuse to accept the fact he could be dead."

Nervously Cappy hovered closer to the edge of the small clearing. Peering out from behind the palm tree, it didn't take long for him to spot the hunched form of the Klepto still fast asleep on a branch its talons digging into the wood keeping itself upright.

Cappy felt nothing but relief the bird was still asleep before he left the safety of the clearing. Hopefully, with any luck, his pursuer would remain asleep allowing him the chance to sneak away undetected hoping to resume his search for Mario so the two of them could continue their search for more Power Moons and finally escaping the desolate Lost Kingdom.

Several minutes passed until a flap of wings caught the Bonneton's attention. Feeling a sense of dread overcoming him Cappy turned around seeing, the Klepto was already taking off into the sky heading towards Cappy within seconds diving towards the Bonneton, extending its forelegs talons opened ready to grab Cappy.

"Not this time you fiend!"

Cappy ascended into the air, seeing the smirk on the Klepto's face vanish, as it realized its mistake. Due to how fast its dive was, the Klepto couldn't pull up in time before the bird crashed into the hard earth sending up small clods of dirt, and rocks until the Klepto came to a stop splayed out on the hard ground gasping for breath, stunned from the unexpected crash landing.

"Take that, you bag of feathers!" Cappy exclaimed in joy.

Wincing, Cappy's tormentor rose to its feet, turning to glare at Cappy. The Bonneton froze unable to shake the feeling he'd made a mistake. A loud shriek confirmed his suspicions, the Klepto rose into the air, before shrieking again resuming its pursuit of Cappy who was already hurrying towards the trail leading up to the mountain.

* * *

Within the doctor's office at the clinic, Mario sat up on the table, feeling the cold steel of the stethoscope being pressed against his chest, the doctor silently listening to the gentle rhythm of Mario's heartbeat. Much to everyone's relief, Mario's injuries weren't serious as everyone had assumed, they were. The doctor removed the stethoscope from Mario's chest with a small smile on his face.

"You appear to be in perfect health, Mr. Mario," The doctor said. "Over the course of the last three days, your burns healed remarkably well. Just make sure you don't overdo it. You're free to go."

"Thank you for everything, Doctor," Mario said warmly. "I promise once Luigi and I rescue our friend; we're going after Bowser. We will rescue the Princess, bringing her safely back to the Mushroom Kingdom."

Mario slid off the table with Luigi silently placing an arm around his shoulders, helping him walk out of the doctor's office down the hallway leading into the reception area with the Toads already waiting for them.

"So, did the doctor give you a clean bill of health?" One of the Toads asked.

"Yes, he did," Mario replied. "It may have taken three days for me to recover, but Luigi and I are heading out into the jungle to search for Cappy."

"We'll come with you too!" One of the Toads exclaimed sliding out the chair eager to help both Mario and Luigi.

"I'd appreciate your help since you did help Luigi save me," Mario replied. "But I'm afraid I'll have to decline your request. You two have done enough for Luigi and me. I don't want to put you in harm's way."

The Toads turned to whisper to each other until one of them faced Mario nodding reluctantly. "Alright then, Mario, if you say so. We're going to help out here at the clinic for a while just in case anyone else had a run in with those beetle monsters."

"Thank you both, for understanding," Mario said with a warm smile. "Come on Luigi, let's go teach that featherbrain a lesson it won't forget in a hurry."

"Of course, I wouldn't mind getting a chance of payback on that buzzard as well," Luigi said earnestly. "No one hurts my brother and gets away with it."

The brothers stepped outside the clinic looking up at the pinkish-red hue of the predawn sky. Luigi had to admit; the Lost Kingdom was peaceful when they weren't being pursued by the hostile creatures of the Lost Kingdom.

"Alright bro, where was the last place you saw Cappy?" Luigi asked Mario.

"Hmm, the last time I saw Cappy we were somewhere deep in the jungle near the base of the mountain," Mario answered Luigi's query. "I can only hope no harm's come to him."

"I'm sure Cappy's okay," Luigi said. "I know he'll be glad to see you, along with the fact you're alright."

"You're right Luigi," Mario said with a smile. "When we're together there's nothing we can't do."

Mario ran into the dense jungle with Luigi following his brother, determined to make sure no harm would befall Mario. Unbeknownst to both Mario and Luigi, high in the sky Kamek silently observed Mario and Luigi racing into the jungle. A small smirk appeared on the Magikoopa's face.

"Well, Lord Bowser's hunch was right after all," Kamek said adjusting his glasses. "The fact Mario survived the crash landing into the Lost Kingdom is troublesome enough. I can't have both Mario and Luigi ruin Lord Bowser's wedding, it looks like I'll have to deal with both of them myself."

In his opinion, both Mario and Luigi had interfered for far too long with Bowser's plans. Kamek set off in pursuit of Mario and Luigi determined to put an end to both of them once and for all.

* * *

The humid jungle air caused both brothers to sweat profusely. Mario turned his head from side to side keeping an eye out for any Trapeetles lurking in the bushes waiting to launch an unexpected ambush on both of them at any second. Not far from where both Mario and Luigi were standing the latter noticed a pair of Wigglers walking across the ground pushing the low hanging vines out of their way.

"I'm surprised to see there are Wigglers here," Luigi said. "Even if they are harmless for now, we still shouldn't make them mad."

"Stay close to me, Luigi. No sudden movements," Mario said to Luigi resting a hand on his brother's arm. The pair of Wigglers walked by the brothers paying them no attention heading into the dense undergrowth.

A rustle of leaves caught Luigi's attention; the plumber turned his head towards the source of the sound. For a moment Luigi could've sworn he caught a glimpse of Kamek. Mario walked ahead for several steps glancing back over his shoulder noticing Luigi hadn't moved from his position.

"Luigi! We need to get going!" Mario called back to Luigi, hoping to get his brother's attention.

"Bro, I think I just saw Kamek," Luigi said nervously. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's been following us this whole time."

Mario tensed upon hearing a familiar cackle coming from the trees. Right on cue, Kamek descended from the sky eying Luigi and Mario with a smirk on his face. "Well, look at this, I guess Lord Bowser's hunch you were still alive was right after all. You're more resourceful then I believed you were Mario."

"Kamek! What has Bowser done with Peach?" Mario demanded.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about your precious little girlfriend. She's fine for the moment," Kamek replied with a grin. "She's in the process of becoming Bowser's perfect bride. It's going to be a beautiful wedding and it's such a shame both of you won't live to see it."

Kamek swung his wand sending a blast of magic in Mario's direction. Mario ducked under Kamek's magic blast while Luigi attempted to jump onto the Magikoopa only for Kamek to move out of the way. Luigi's fingers gripped the end of the broomstick pulling it down. Kamek tuned to glare at Luigi holding onto his broom dragging him towards the ground.

"Get your grubby hands off my broomstick at once!" Kamek shouted at Luigi."Those are vintage birch twigs you're yanking out of my broom you fiend!"

Kamek turned around facing Luigi before firing off a blast of magic, the attack striking Luigi on his left hand forcing Luigi to let go of the broomstick with a yelp landing on the ground bent over clasping his left hand.

"Are you alright Luigi?" Mario cried out racing towards Luigi who was bent over, teeth gritted in pain slowly showing Mario his left hand. Kamek's attack had burned away the glove on Luigi's hand revealing an ugly red burn stretching from the tips of Luigi's fingers all the way down to the middle of his hand.

"I'm fine Mario," Luigi said through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't have been so careless."

"It's not your fault bro," Mario said hoping to reassure Luigi. "I promise you, the second we rescue Cappy, I'm taking you back to the clinic to get your hand treated. You're not careless at all."

Mario saw Luigi nod acknowledging his words. The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom slowly turned around feeling his fists clench turning to face Kamek who simply glowered back at the plumber. "You have a lot of nerve for hurting my brother. We're going to take you down together!"

Mario leaped into the air landing on top of Kamek. With a shriek, the Magikoopa crashed into the dense leafy foliage. Wincing he attempted to ascend into the air. Luigi jumped into the air landing on top of Kamek's head resulting in another angry shriek from Kamek.

Kamek avoided another stomp from Mario climbing back onto his broom quickly ascending into the air out of his attackers reach and turning his head slightly to the left he spotted the pair of Wigglers standing not too far away from his enemies.

With no hesitation, Kamek aimed his wand at the Wigglers firing of a blast of magic engulfed the Wigglers, as they grew three times their size towering above the jungle's treetops. In a panic, the pair of Wigglers looked around for the source of the attack as a second blast of magic slammed into their backsides. In response to the pain from the unprovoked attacks, their normal yellow color soon turned bright red, their normal smiles were gone to be replaced by angry grimaces.

"You'd better run, Mario Bros before you become the pancake bros!" Kamek called down mockingly to Mario before taking off into the sky.

"Kamek, you cowardly Koopa, get back here so we..." Mario trailed off seeing the Wigglers glaring at Mario and Luigi before they stampeded towards the plumbers.

"We need to run!" Luigi's panicked shout alerted Mario as both brothers set off at a desperate sprint through the jungle, hearing the heavy tread of the Wiggler's feet right behind them. The two brothers ran through the dense undergrowth eventually leaving the jungle behind them as Mario noticed they were approaching the base of the mountain where the Klepto attacked both him and Cappy three days ago.

The heavy tread of the Wigglers' footsteps were a constant reminder both Mario and Luigi weren't safe yet. Mario turned his head watching the Wigglers pursuing them kicking up dust clouds. Trees became uprooted whenever one of the Wigglers slammed into the trees knocking them to ground. One of the uprooted trees crashed to the ground inches away from Luigi.

"How much longer do you think they're going to continue chasing us, Mario?" Luigi asked fear evident in his voice.

"I don't know Luigi. If we don't keep moving, they're going to trample us!" Mario called back. "We're so close to the place where that buzzard brain attacked Cappy and me! If we can't escape these Wigglers, then we're going to die!"

Mario anxiously looked around the area looking for any sturdy trees that would be able to keep them safe out of the Wiggler's reach. To Mario's dismay, none of the trees appeared to be able strong enough to withstand the vibrations coming from the stampeding Wigglers.

A dark shadow fell over Mario. The plumber turned his head noticing Luigi right next to him glancing in horror at the giant Wiggler bearing down on them until suddenly, the Wigglers shrank back down to their normal size coming to a stop.

Luigi and Mario finally slowed down panting for breath staring back at the Wigglers looking around in confusion, before shaking their heads turning around heading back to the dense jungle until they vanished from sight. The pair of brothers sighed in relief upon realizing they were no longer in danger.

"That was too close," Mario said shakily. "If that spell lasted for a few more seconds, we would be dead by now. When we were still being chased, I spotted the Klepto in the sky. I'm willing to bet that's where Cappy is so we need to hurry."

Mario and Luigi continued their ascent up the mountain eventually reaching the top. The only building on top of the mountain was a small shop with a closed sign attached to the shutter. As both brothers gazed around the area it didn't take long for Mario to hear a familiar shriek, a glance at the sky confirmed his worst suspicions. The Klepto was hovering in the sky wings outstretched gliding on the air currents gazing down at Cappy frozen in place in the middle of the plateau with his hands over his head.

"Don't worry Cappy!" Mario called out hoping to catch the Bonneton's attention. "We'll deal with buzzard brain once and for all!"

At the sound of Mario's voice, Cappy looked up making eye contact with Mario, with small tears pricking at the corner of his eyes upon seeing Mario was alive and well.

"Mario! I knew you were alive!" Cappy cried out. "Can you please do something about this pile of stinky feathers?"

"Of course, I can mei amici!" Mario said reassuring Cappy before he glowered at the Klepto. "I'm not going to let that buzzard breath lay one grubby talon on you again. Get behind me, Cappy, I'll take care of that monster!"

The Klepto shrieked diving down towards Cappy. Mario raced towards the Klepto drawing back a fist punching the bird right in the face, causing the condor to shriek in pain as it ascended into the sky glowering down at the Mario brothers angered at being unable to seize Cappy again. Luigi felt Cappy brushing his leg the Bonneton huddled behind him shaking in fear.

"Hmmm, if we get to close, buzzard brain's not going to come down," Mario mused rubbing his chin deep in thought. "If only we had something to lure it down with."

Luigi reached up for his damaged cap while keeping one eye on the Klepto. The second he brushed his fingers along the damaged material, the Klepto turned its head becoming fixated on the object.

"Mario, I think the reason the Klepto went for Cappy is that I think he resembles a cap," Luigi said.

"Mama Mia, why didn't I make the connection sooner?" Mario mumbled to himself. The way he'd seen the Klepto staring at Cappy raptly, before attacking Mario resulting in Cappy's kidnapping all because of the latter's resemblance to a hat.

"Alright Luigi here's the plan," Mario said. "We'll use your hat, to lure the Klepto down here and then I will climb on top of the shop's roof. Then I'll jump onto it's back and cause it to fly into those nearby palm trees," Mario said smiling. "That'll teach that buzzard brain a lesson not to mess with my friends. Also, the Bonneton behind you is Cappy. Cappy, mei amici, this is my younger brother Luigi."

Luigi came face to face with Cappy looking at him for the first time. "Oh, so you're Luigi, right? It's nice to meet you at last."

"Same here," Luigi replied with a smile hoping to reassure Cappy. "Mario's still not fully recovered, so I hope he doesn't do anything too reckless."

"Luigi, I promise, I won't do anything that'll make you worry about me," Mario said reassuringly placing his hand on top of Luigi's uninjured hand. "Just have faith in me bro, and everything will be okay."

"I trust you, bro," Luigi replied. "I promise you I'll keep Cappy safe."

Mario nodded sprinting over to the side of the shop leaping up on the roof getting ready to jump onto the Klepto's back. Luigi whipped off his cap and began waving it in the air flashing a smile at the Klepto. "Oh, you don't want Cappy, I've got a brand-new cap for you to steal!"

The Klepto was unable to resist the lure being offered to it, dived towards Luigi, talons extended ready to grab its prize. With the Klepto's attention fixated on the offered cap it failed to notice Mario leaping onto the bird's back, his added weight caused the bird to roll in the air, in an attempt to dislodge the unwanted passenger to no avail. The Klepto glared at Mario gripping hard on the greasy black feathers covering the bird's body.

"You dared to lay your grubby talons on my friend," Mario said icily making eye contact with the Klepto. "That was a big mistake you made."

Mario lunged covering the Klepto's eyes with his hands essentially blocking its line of sight. The Klepto banked in the air shrieking furiously. From the corner of his eye, Mario smiled seeing Luigi running over to the nearest palm tree leaping up pulling down on the top of the nearest palm tree pulling with all his might bending it back until the tip of the tree was nearly touching the ground.

Yanking hard on the Klepto's greasy black feathers ignoring another ear-piercing shriek, that nearly ruptured Mario's eardrums, Mario directed the Klepto, forcing it to fold its wings as Mario smiled. "Now Luigi!"

Mario jumped of the Klepto's back as Luigi let go of the tree watching it snap back striking the Klepto in the face, sending it crashing to the ground in a hail of feathers scattering about the stunned bird. Shakily the Klepto, rose to its feet, turning an irate glare at Mario, Luigi, and Cappy. With one last shriek, the Klepto took off into the air flying away into the distance.

"Don't come back!" Cappy cried out shaking his fist gleefully.

Rising to his feet Mario turned to face Luigi and Cappy. Luigi and Cappy ran towards Mario with both embracing him in a hug. Mario sank to his knees in pure relief wrapping his arms around Cappy and Luigi.

"Mario!" Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Cappy exclaimed in pure delight hovering towards Mario taking his hands in his own.

"Cappy, I'm sorry I couldn't rescue you sooner," Mario said fighting back the tears. "You have no idea; how glad I am to see that you're safe."

Cappy began to sob small tears leaking from his eyes. "I- I was so scared, for you Mario. When I saw you weren't moving, I thought the worst had happened. I thought you were dead, even though I didn't want to believe it. Thank goodness you're alright."

For the first time in days, Luigi could see Mario's shoulders beginning to relax with the plumber finally standing up.

"So, what do we need to power the Odyssey?" Luigi asked.

"This is something I should've mentioned a few nights ago, but we need Power Moons to power the Odyssey," Mario said " They look like little crescent moons. I have no doubt Kamek is going to inform Bowser I'm still alive, which means Bowser will send some of his forces here to kill us."

"Mario, I'll help you escape the Lost Kingdom so you can rescue Peach," Luigi said firmly. "Besides, I'd love to see the other Kingdoms with you. I'm sure I'll be able to find a more suitable Kingdom so Balloon World will be able to make its debut."

"That's what I like to hear Luigi," Mario said with a smile. "There's plenty of room in the Odyssey for you, and I'll admit, I've missed having you around. There's no way I'm leaving you alone in a dangerous place like this. The first thing we're going to do before we hunt for more Power Moons is we're taking you back to the clinic to get your hand looked at."

Mario began to walk down the pathway heading back to the clinic with Luigi and Cappy following him. Mario looked up at the blue skies for once it appeared things were looking up for him at last. Those who were closet to him were safe, and that was all Mario could ask for now, but he couldn't shake the feeling Kamek was on his way to Bowser with the news the Koopa King was dreading to hear.

* * *

Meanwhile high in the sky, Kamek headed eastwards heading in the direction of Bowser's airship. Kamek adjusted his glasses with a sneer. "Well, I can't say Lord Bowser will be pleased about this. It's unfortunate my spell wore off before the Wigglers were able to run those interfering plumbers over. Lord Bowser needs to know about this at once!"

Deep down the Magikoopa dreaded his master's reaction to the news of Mario's survival, he quickly shook his head unwilling to let his doubts get the best of him.

"You and your brother may have won this round, for now, Mario," Kamek said with a sinister grin. "Bowser still has your precious princess and I'll be back with reinforcements sooner or later, and let's just say the next time we meet, both you and your brother won't be so lucky."

Feeling a small spark of joy in his heart Kamek continued his journey heading in the direction of Bowser's airship pushing his doubts aside for the moment. For now, his loyalty to Bowser was his top priority a duty he was more than happy to fulfill no matter what the cost would be.

* * *

_Author's note. With the conclusion of the saving Cappy plot, we won't be seeing the Klepto after this chapter. It was always my intention to have the Klepto as a warm-up boss since I didn't want to drag out the plot of Mario rescuing Cappy from the Klepto for any longer. Mario and Cappy have finally been reunited along with the latter meeting Luigi for the first time. There will be more interactions between Luigi and Cappy during the next few chapters along with Luigi witnessing Cappy's powers for the first time._

_To clear something up, I'm well aware there are no Wigglers in the Lost Kingdom. When I wrote up the outline for this chapter, I did plan on using the Tropical Wigglers, but for the chase scene, I couldn't exactly see the Tropical Wigglers chasing Mario and Luigi which is the reason why I decided to use the normal Wigglers. _

_Even though we didn't see Peach along with Bowser and the Koopalings in this chapter they will have a role to play within the next chapter. I won't say what Peach's role is going to be, but it will be aiding Mario in her own way._

_As per usual, constructive criticism/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix/thoughts/ reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. Thanks as always for reading this, and I will talk to you guys with the next chapter next time. _


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note, First of all, I would like to apologize for the fact you guys had to wait for over a month for this chapter to come out. I've been busy with my activities along with my family planning on how to rearrange everything in our original house once the renovations are complete. There was also the fact I got caught up in preparation for a family reunion which lasted longer then I thought it would._

_Thank you to everyone for being patient with the long delay. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. _

_Anyway, special thanks as always go to Drones of Intelligence, Red. Rosessss, TGN, s3731997 and animegamefanatic for leaving a review. Your support and feedback is always appreciated, and thank you to everyone who took the time to read the last chapter. _

_A special shoutout and thank you goes to ElectricBlaster for leaving a favorite on this story. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic and thank you for the support. _

_Italics are for Peach's letter along with Luigi's thoughts later on in the chapter. _

_Disclaimer: Its the same as the previous chapters. I don't own anything, which I don't own the characters, locations or anything in general since they're copyrighted to Nintendo. _

* * *

Kamek soared through the chilly night skies shivering from the cold. Stifling a yawn Kamek knew if he fell asleep, he would fall off his broom to his death. It had taken all night for the Magikoopa to catch up to Bowser's airship. The skies around the Magikoopa began to turn a light pink hue and the last traces of the moon began to dip below the horizon. Much to Kamek's relief, he spotted the airship making its way through the skies still on its course towards the Metro Kingdom.

"Lord Bowser's not going to like what I'm going to tell him" Kamek muttered to himself. "Because of this wedding, his temper's become even worse than usual. I don't want to become a charbroiled Magikoopa. I can only hope his children will be able to take care of the Mario brothers."

Silently hoping Bowser would be in a good mood, Kamek continued to head towards his master's ship.

* * *

Meanwhile on the deck of his ship Bowser paced back and forth along the floorboards which creaked underneath his weight. To Bowser's left, both his and Bowser Jr's Koopa Clown Cars were parked on the deck.

Not too far away from where his father was pacing, Bowser Jr waited patiently while Larry and Lemmy, on the other hand, were making faces at each other while their father wasn't looking. Topper was writing something down on a piece of paper in his hands.

"So, what's the total cost for this wedding so far, Topper?" Bowser impatiently asked. "I'm not made of coins you know!"

Topper paused in his calculations, making sure to look up at Bowser. "Let's see here, we've got ya a dress, a ring, and a bouquet of flowers. So far, all together ya bill adds up to let's see three thousand, five hundred and eighty coins as the total cost."

"WHHHHAAAAATTTT?!" Bowser bellowed in disbelief upon hearing the total cost. "That's not possible! The Soiree Bouquet are a bunch of dumb flowers, the Lochlady Dress and the Binding Band are just tourist attractions! How in the world can they cost so much?"

Topper swallowed nervously backing away from the now angry Koopa King. "Ya see boss, that may be true for the Soiree Bouquet, but the Binding Band and the Lochlady Dress are priceless treasures of both the Sand and Lake Kingdoms. Be thankful we're only chargin' ya this much. Had it been any other wedding planning business, it would've cost ya an even bigger fortune!"

Bowser huffed in annoyance turning his attention towards his children finally noticing Larry and Lemmy making faces at each other.

"Larry, Lemmy, stop making faces at each other right now!" Bowser snarled in frustration. "I've already got enough problems on my plate."

Upon hearing their father's angry shout both Larry and Lemmy ceased making faces, both of them quickly apologizing silently standing to attention.

"Why did you summon us in this early in the morning, Papa?" Bowser Jr asked yawning sleepily. "Couldn't Ludwig, Iggy, or Roy help us out when it comes to killing the Mario Brothers?"

"No, I couldn't. Ludwig informed me he's not to be disturbed while he, Iggy, and Hariet are working on a 'present' we're going to give to the citizens of the Metro Kingdom," Bowser replied.

At that moment Kamek appeared panting for breath, looking exhausted somehow still remaining on his broom. Bowser shifted his attention from his children to his most loyal servant.

"It's about time, Kamek," Bowser said. "I trust that you have some good news for me."

"Lord Bowser, I've returned from the Lost Kingdom," Kamek replied. "Well, I do bring news about Mario he's-"

"Spit it out Kamek! I don't have all day!" Bowser interrupted Kamek. "Is Mario dead or is he still alive?"

"I have some bad news for your sire," Kamek said. "Mario is still alive in the Lost Kingdom. Even as we speak, he's resuming his search for more Power Moons. To make matters worse, his twin brother who I kidnapped all those years ago is with him as well."

Bowser groaned resisting the urge to facepalm. He roared unleashing a stream of fire up to the heavens nearly burning one of the wooden masts to cinders. Everyone took several steps back waiting for Bowser's tantrum to end, until at last Bowser stopped his flame breath, his chest rising and falling from the effort.

"Kids, head to the Lost Kingdom now!" Bowser spoke to Lemmy, Bowser Jr, and Larry. "When you find those pesky plumbers, make sure they never leave the Lost Kingdom! You can take the Koopa Clown Car and Junior, take your own Koopa Clown Car. However, kids, don't scratch the paintwork on the Koopa Clown Car. It cost me two thousand and two hundred coins for the paint job!"

"So, when can we have breakfast Papa?" Bowser Jr asked. "We didn't even get a chance to eat yet."

"Ugh fine, stop at a cafe on the way there, but no more delays!" Bowser growled. "Kamek, I want you to head back to the Lost Kingdom to make sure my kids get the job done!"

"Your wish is my command, Lord Bowser!" Kamek said. "I'll make sure we'll properly deal with Mario and Luigi once and for all!"

The three Koopalings raced towards the Koopa Clown Cars parked on the deck of the ship. Bowser Jr climbed into his personal Koopa Clown Car, as Larry and Lemmy climbed into the Koopa Clown Car taking off into the skies with Kamek following them. Bowser sighed again resting a pair of massive claws against his forehead, rubbing them to calm himself before he lost his temper again.

"I'm here for anything ya need, boss!" Topper exclaimed eagerly in an attempt to please Bowser. "Why don't ya head below deck and check on the wedding preparations? I can handle anything ya ask of me."

Bowser shook his head red eyes narrowing before heaving a tired sigh stomping away. "I'm counting on you to take the Princess's breakfast to her. Don't mess this up, or I won't be paying that bill!"

Topper ran across the deck opening the door to the ship's interior. He was greeted by the warm odor of cooking food drifting down the hallway. Topper followed the warm smell of cooking food until he came to a pair of white doors with the word kitchen on a placard above the door frame.

Topper entered the kitchen to find a Shy Guy was already waiting for him holding a small tray with a selection of fresh fruit, a blueberry muffin with a tall glass of orange juice which was hastily pressed into Topper's hands.

"When you exit the kitchen, the Princess' room is the second doorway on the right," The Shy Guy said impatiently. "Now then, I've got a wedding banquet to prepare for and Lord Bowser's not giving us much time to prepare for it, so scram!"

"Thanks for da tip," Topper said exiting the kitchen walking down the corridor arriving at the ornate white door only to bump into Roy standing at the door with a fierce glare aimed in Topper's direction.

"I can't believe you're in charge of Princess' Peach's breakfast," Roy sneered unafraid to voice his displeasure at the current events. "Anyway, I should've been part of the attack too. Dad knows I'm more than capable of pounding those loser plumbers into the dust!"

"Ssssh! Not in front of the princess's room ya dolt!" Topper said. "We don't want to let her know Mario's alive!"

"Now who's a dolt?" Roy sneered. "What if the princess overheard what you've just blabbed?"

"Yeah, like ya Koopalings have a far better track record of defeating Mario," Topper muttered under his breath. "He's not even going to catch up with us. After the Metro Kingdom, we're going to be heading to the Snow Kingdom, then onto the Luncheon and Seaside Kingdoms to gather even more things for this wedding."

"You idiot! Can't you even keep a secret?!" Roy bellowed in pure frustration taking a step towards Topper who shrank back against the door in fear.

Unbeknownst to Roy and Topper, on the other side of the bedroom door, Peach sat on the floor her ear pressed against the white door listening to the conversation a small smile forming on her face along with tears of relief slipping down her face.

"Mario's alive," Peach said shakily. "I assumed the worst had happened when his ship was shot down. Oh, thank heavens he's okay."

"Then that must mean Cappy's okay too," Tiara chimed in relief evident in her voice.

Peach and Tiara saw the handle on the door beginning to turn as they hurried towards the middle of the room. To Peach's right, an ornate cage stood in the middle of the room containing several white doves, who perched looking miserable on the wooden pegs, their food and water dishes being only half refilled. Next, to the birdcage, a four-poster bed took up most of the room along with a small table with a pen and paper along with a medium-sized wardrobe.

Topper entered the room, his ears stained with the orange juice trickling down his ears, the small scowl never left his face, silently making his way to the small table setting Peach's breakfast on it.

"Let me tell ya, dat Roy's a charming fellow," Topper grumbled turning to face Peach. "You didn't hear any of what we discussed outside ya door did ya?"

"No, I didn't," Peach lied keeping her tone neutral.

"Good, ya breakfast is on this tray and da boss wants you to try on the Binding Band in a practice run tomorrow evening in preparation for this wedding. Ya need to be on yer best behavior for this rehearsal, is dat understood?"

"Yes, I do," Peach replied meekly. "You wouldn't happen to know where the wedding is taking place do you?"

"Nope, sorry can't tell ya," Topper replied. "Da boss wants it to be a surprise. The rehearsal will be at six p.m. tomorrow evening, so don't even think about being late. Da King of the Koopas is already in a bad mood already."

Topper left the room closing the door behind him. Peach hastily made her way back to the simple wooden desk pulling open the drawer, grabbing a small piece of paper and a pen sitting down at the desk beginning to write her letter.

_To Mario, wherever you are._

_I'm doing well, please don't give up no matter what happens. I know we'll meet again soon. Also, Bowser's planning to target the Metro Kingdom next. All I know is that after the Metro Kingdom we're heading to the Snow Kingdom, Luncheon and the Seaside Kingdoms to retrieve even more things for this awful wedding. Mario, I will never agree to be Bowser's wife. It should be my own choice who I choose to fall in love with, and eventually marry. You can't force someone to marry you if you don't love them. _

_Please, don't do anything rash. I will send you more letters in the meantime please be careful. I've got a plan to escape Bowser's clutches. I've been the damsel in distress for too long, it's my turn to rescue you._

_Until then, please be careful. _

_Sincerely, Peach._

Having finished her letter, Peach rose from the desk and made her way towards the cage with the doves opening the cage door. She took out one of the birds whispering reassuring words to it before tying the note to one of the bird's legs and she walked to the open porthole releasing the dove allowing the bird to fly into the endless skies.

Peach silently watched the dove flying away into the distance until she could no longer see it. Tiara hovered next to her in silence before she turned to face Peach.

"We're going to put our plan into action soon right?" Tiara asked.

"We're going to put our plan into action tomorrow before the wedding rehearsal," Peach said. "I know there's a chance we could be caught, but it's a risk we'll have to take. I'm tired of being the damsel in distress, who always has to rely on Mario to save me. That's why I'm going to gather as much information as I can about this wedding so I can tell Mario where to find me. It's my turn to save him."

Peach walked back to the desk, reaching into one of the drawers and pulling out a fresh piece of paper beginning to write a new letter to Mario. Her resolve was clear. She wasn't going to allow Bowser to intimidate her into becoming his bride.

* * *

Meanwhile within the walls of the Lost Kingdom's clinic, Luigi sat up on the table with the doctor carefully examining his hand, a frown on his face turning it from side to side "While it appears to be nothing more than a minor first degree burn, I would still take it easy, and not overdo it. My, my you Mario brothers sure have a penchant for getting into trouble."

"Thank you so much Doctor," Luigi said sliding off the table standing upright shaking the doctor's hand with his uninjured hand. Mario heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully Luigi's burn hadn't been as severe he'd assumed it was.

Mario felt his fist clench upon recalling the memory of Kamek harming his brother made Mario's blood boil how he longed to punch the arrogant Magikoopa in the face.

"Thank you again, Doctor," Mario said gratefully. "We're so sorry to trouble you like this, but you wouldn't have happened to see any Power Moons appearing in the Lost Kingdom haven't you?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, a few nights ago before your arrival in the Lost Kingdom, several purple moon shaped objects appeared in the depths of the jungle," The doctor replied. "I took a team consisting of my bravest staff members with me when I went to investigate, but we were set upon by several Trapeetles which forced us to retreat."

"Mario, those could be the Power Moons we're looking for," Cappy said. "We only need three more Power Moons if we're going to have a chance of leaving this Kingdom."

"Thank you for the information, Doctor," Mario said."Cappy, Luigi and I will be able to retrieve the Power Moons. We'll be careful, you have nothing to worry about."

"Alright then, just to let you know if anyone in your group gets hurt, we'll always be able to treat your injuries." The doctor said warmly.

Mario and Luigi thanked the doctor before exiting, the clinic feeling the warm morning sun on their skin. Cappy hovered near Mario unfolding a small brochure. "Okay, according to the map, if we take a left around five hundred meters we'll reach the Lost Kingdom Depths. The only creatures that are known to reside there are the Tropical Wigglers. Unless you bump into them, they're completely harmless."

Mario, Luigi, and Cappy thanked the doctor again exiting the clinic heading down the long winding pathway towards the jungle's depths. The air grew hot humid causing both Mario and Luigi to sweat, as they arrived at their destination a small section of land with vast purple water stretched as far as the eye could see surrounded by the Poison Bog. Mario tensed when he saw the crudely put together ebony sign with a skull and crossbones painted on the wooden sign, the wet paint still fresh dripping down the sign.

"Hmmm, is the doctor sure he saw Power Moons down here?" Cappy asked nervously. "This appears to be a dangerous place."

Mario frowned looking around the area until he spotted the telltale glow of two Power Moons not hovering above a pair of stumps close to each other- thankfully not too far away from where a lone Tropical Wiggler was walking past Mario and Luigi minding its own business.

"There are a couple of Power Moons right there on those stumps," Mario said. "Hey, Cappy do you think possessing that Tropical Wiggler will be possible?"

Luigi stiffened, facing Mario with a quizzical expression on his face. "Wait what do you mean by possessing the Tropical Wiggler?" Luigi asked nervously.

"Well you see, Weegie, when I throw Cappy at enemies or objects, I'm able to possess them and use them to reach Power Moons. It doesn't hurt the enemy. Here Cappy, and I will show you how we do it."

Mario turned to face the Tropical Wiggler, a pair of fingers resting on Cappy.

"Are you ready Cappy?"

"Of course I am Mario, let's do this!"

Mario gently gripped Cappy throwing him at the Tropical Wiggler knocking the hat off the top of its head, catching it off guard. Cappy returned to Mario's hand being flung at the Tropical Wiggler again landing on top of the Tropical Wiggler's head.

This time Mario levitated off the ground being sucked in a shower of multicolored dots before being sucked into the Tropical Wiggler. Luigi watched the whole scene his jaw slack in shock seeing the Tropical Wiggler turning to face him with a pair of blue eyes.

"M- Mario?" Luigi stammered trembling all over. "Are you really inside that thing?"

Mario Wiggler nodded turning his attention towards the stump before stretching his body towards the stump, his front half grabbing onto the stump before pulling the rest of his body across the pool of purple Poison Bog bubbling ominously beneath him.

In an instant, Mario leaped out of the Tropical Wiggler before re-entering the Tropical Wiggler again making his way back across the swamp jumping out of the Wiggler's body landing on his feet.

"Wait, do you want me to try it out?" Luigi asked nervously glancing over at the dazed Tropical Wiggler sitting on the ground. He hesitantly removed the cap from atop his head feeling Cappy settling on the top of his head.

"Everything will be okay, Luigi," Cappy said reassuringly. "Just fling me once at the Tropical Wiggler to knock its hat off and when I come back toss me again at the Tropical Wiggler so we can possess it."

"You can do it, Luigi!" Mario called out hoping to boost Luigi's confidence.

Luigi swallowed nervously before throwing Cappy at the Tropical Wiggler knocking its hat off. In an instant Cappy returned to Luigi's fingers, Luigi threw Cappy again, the Bonneton landed squarely on the Tropical Wiggler's head.

In an instant, Luigi levitated into the air his feet leaving the ground. Much to the plumber's horror, his left hand began to dissolve in a shower of sparkles before he was yanked towards the stunned Tropical Wiggler.

A low moan escaped the Wiggler's lips Luigi's eyes slowly fluttered open glancing around at his surroundings. Moving felt awkward he'd never had to control so many legs before.

_Holy spaghetti, I really did possess the Tropical Wiggler,_ Luigi thought to himself trying to control his pounding heart along with the rising fear creeping up all over his body.

Mario stood off to the side anxiously watching the Luigi Wiggler blinking it's now blue eyes gazing around in confusion. "Luigi, can you hear me?"

The Luigi Wiggler turned to face Mario shaking its head from side to side. Even moving in his new body felt awkward. Seeing a look of relief appear on Mario's face the Wiggler trundled off near the edge of the swamp, extending his long body, towards the half-submerged tree stump where the Power Moon resided.

_Well, here I go then. Don't focus on the poisonous Poison Bog below me. I can do this, anything to help my bro out_. Luigi allowed his ruminations to give him the boost of confidence he needed.

Instantly the Luigi Wiggler stretched out its body, the front half resting on the stump allowing the rest of his body to catch up with him as Luigi glanced up the bright purple glow of the Moon hovering above him.

Mario saw the Luigi Wiggler turning to face him with a confused expression on its face unsure how to acquire the Power Moon.

"Just jump out of the Wiggler bro!" Mario called out

Luigi took a breath before jumping out of the Wiggler grabbing the Power Moon before being pulled back into the Wiggler, the Power Moon nestled in his hands. Luigi Wiggler turned around stretching across the surface of the Poison Bog feeling the pull of his body stretching accompanied by a musical note the rest of his body catching up with him

"Alright Luigi, I take it you want to get out of the Wiggler then?" Cappy asked.

"Yes, I do," Luigi answered Cappy's question. "Although I have no idea, how to do that."

"It's simple, all you have to is jump out of the Wiggler."

In an instant, Luigi felt himself being sucked out of the dazed Tropical Wiggler, sitting on its behind before it shakily got up grabbing its hat before slowly walking away and casting a frantic look back at Luigi before it hurried away into the undergrowth.

Luigi paused staring at the purple glow of the Power Moon in the palm of his hands, pulsing with a warm light. He looked up feeling Cappy's hand resting on his shoulder.

"Well done, Luigi that's how Mario and I've been obtaining Power Moons," Cappy said warmly. "For your first time, you did a great job."

Mario approached Luigi patting him on the shoulder beaming widely. "That's my bro. You can always count on him to get the job done."

The warm praise coming from Mario brought a smile to Luigi's face. "Thanks, Mario. I'll always have your back no matter what happens from now on."

"Right then I think we should resume the hunt for more Power Moons then," Cappy said pointing to the east. "There should be some down there if I'm not mistaken."

The brothers nodded to each other before following Cappy heading deeper into the depths of the Lost Kingdom. Mario turned to face Luigi, a warm smile on his face. Deep down inside he was proud of Luigi of how far he'd come. He was glad to have his brother at his side, but still he couldn't shake the unease sooner or later they would have to face Bowser's forces again, and this time Mario vowed to do everything he could to protect Luigi.

* * *

_Author's note Well, I know not a lot happened in this chapter. The original plan for this chapter was to have the Koopa Kids along with Kamek confronting Mario, Luigi and Cappy in the depths of the Lost Kingdom after the former group retrieved some of the Power Moons, but I didn't go with the idea, because it would've dragged out the chapter longer then I wanted it to be. _

You guys will see the Koopalings confronting Mario and Luigi within the next chapter where things will be picking up again. As for Bowser's plans for the Metro Kingdom, well things will be escalating within the penultimate chapter.

Also, if there's another thing I wished we got in Odyssey, it was more interactions with Peach and Tiara. It's a missed opportunity that we only really get to interact with them post-game where I wish we could've seen more of their interactions which we will be seeing more of when Peach will be putting her plan into action within the next couple of chapters.

_There were a couple of references in the chapter. One of them is a nod towards the Mecha Wiggler which you fight in the Metro Kingdom, which is one of my favorite boss fights in the game. There's also another reference to the year when Super Mario Sunshine was released in when Bowser told the Koopalings not to scratch the paintwork on his Koopa Clown Car. _

_As per usual, constructive criticism/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix/reviews are always welcomed and appreciated. I hope you guys take care of yourselves, thank you for taking the time to read this new chapter and I'll see you guys next time with the next chapter hopefully soon. _


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note Hey guys, I'm back once more with another chapter for this story. We're finally getting closer to the end as they're only two chapters left. I apologize for the delay due to the fact __ I've been busy over the last couple of months due to having to deal with our original home being renovated along with the family reunion which was happening this last month. _

_However this month things have been hectic becuase I've been helping my parents begin the process of moving our stuff back into our original home along with the fact we've spent this past week packing for a trip we're taking this coming weekend which didn't leave me with much time to write over the last couple of weeks. I just want to say again I sincerely apologize for the long delay and thank you all for being patient. _

_I also want to say thank you so much to everyone for either leaving a favorite, follow or by even viewing this story all of you have helped this story reach over 1600 views. _

_Special shoutouts go to Red. Rosessss and animegamefanatic for leaving reviews on this story. I'm glad to see both of you are enjoying the story and thanks as always for your support. _

_Shout out and a thank you go to The Crazy Mr. L. Fangirl for leaving a favorite on this story. Thank you for the favorite. I'm pleased to see you're enjoying the fic._

_As always, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. _

_Disclaimer: Its the same as always. I don't own anything in the Mario franchise. I don't own the characters and settings since it's copyrighted to Nintendo. The only thing I own is this story._

* * *

The sound of buzzing insects echoed all around Mario as he and Luigi began to walk up the path leading towards the jungle with Cappy at his side. However, the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom appeared to be distracted, glancing up at the sky every few minutes, as though he was expecting the Klepto to reappear and attack them again.

Luigi walked ahead of Mario and Cappy keeping a lookout in case they were attacked by Trapeetles or in the worst-case scenario, the Wigglers would launch another unexpected attack. Unable to shake the feeling something was wrong with Mario, Luigi paused in his stride turning around to face Mario.

"Are you okay Mario?"

Mario looked up seeing Luigi looking back at him in concern with a small anxious frown on his face.

"I'm alright Luigi," Mario said quickly. "I'm just worried that we may be attacked again. I can't shake the feeling the Koopalings are going to attack us at any moment now. Also, Cappy's been quiet ever since we've found the two Power Moons a while ago."

The hero of the Mushroom Kingdom noticed Cappy hovering silently, next to him. Mario paused in his stride noticing Cappy appeared to be agitated. The Bonneton hovered ahead muttering something to himself; occasionally he would glance up at the sky in the unlikely event the Klepto was following them something Mario knew made Cappy uneasy.

"Hey, Cappy it's okay. That feathered buzzard isn't going to make off with you again. Luigi and I made sure of it," Mario said hoping to reassure Cappy.

"Oh, I'm not worried about the Klepto anymore," Cappy replied. "It's that we've been trapped here for over three days now and I'm worried about both Tiara and Princess Peach. As for Tiara, she's never been outside the borders of our kingdom before. When we were younger, she used to get scared of the idea of even going beyond the border of the Cap Kingdom, which I used to comfort her by saying she was brave in her own way."

"I'm sure both Tiara and Peach are okay," Mario said. "You don't think the Odyssey was destroyed in the crash do you?"

"The last time we saw it was still mostly intact," Cappy answered Mario's question. "The Cap Kingdom's ships do have a reputation of being the sturdiest when it comes to air travel. When Bowser attacked the Cap Kingdom, all of our ships except the Odyssey were destroyed in the attack. If we're to escape this place, we'll probably need three more Power Moons or a Multi Moon to do so."

Luigi paused about to ask what a Multi Moon was until he saw a dove flying right at them before crash landing at Mario's feet. The bird lay panting on the ground from exhaustion, as Mario gently bent down picking up the dove gently cupping it in his hands.

"This is one of the doves from the Mushroom Kingdom and it looks like there's a letter attached to its leg," Mario said slowly untying the letter from the bird's leg. Luigi plucked the bird from Mario's hands holding it as Mario unfurled the letter reading the text as his hands began to tremble.

"Mario, are you okay? It's a letter from Peach isn't it?" Luigi queried.

"Yes, it is. She's planning her escape from Bowser, but what if she gets captured again?" Mario asked a faint tremor in his voice, his mind already running wild about the possibilities of Peach and Tiara attempting to escape only to end up in Bowser's clutches once more.

"We need to hurry and retrieve the last few Power Moons before something terrible happens to her. Oh, Mama mia, this is all my fault. If only I'd been able to defeat Bowser sooner, she wouldn't be in danger. Sometimes it feels like whatever I do to keep Peach safe isn't enough."

"That's not true, Mario," Luigi said softly. "You're the best hero the Mushroom Kingdom could ever ask for. You'll save her like you always have."

Mario turned to face Luigi with a small smile before stepping forward to embrace his brother in a gentle hug which Luigi gladly returned. "Thank you, bro. You're right; we can't give up, the Odyssey probably isn't even that far away."

The group resumed their trek through the jungle with Mario bringing up the rear of the group with Cappy at his side glancing up at the skies again. The dove having recovered from its long flight appeared to chirp a thank you before flying off Luigi's shoulder taking to the skies once more having earned its freedom.

* * *

Meanwhile high in the skies, Kamek flew ahead of Bowser Jr., Lemmy, and Larry sitting in their own Koopa Clown Cars leading the way back towards the Lost Kingdom. The Magikoopa allowed a grim smile to appear on his face. Soon he would have his revenge against the Mario brothers, for being able to survive the Wiggler attack; he closed his eyes trying his best to drown out the bickering coming from behind him.

To Kamek's left, he spotted Bowser Jr. sighing in annoyance at his sibling's antics. Bowser's son's eyes were narrowed in pure determination, which reminded Kamek of his father. Bowser Jr. continued to stare ahead in silence tapping his claws against the smooth paintwork of his vehicle.

"Dad said it was my turn to drive his Koopa Clown Car, Lemmy!" Larry's voice cut through the air. Kamek sighed turning his attention to Larry and Lemmy seeing the two youngest Koopalings in the middle of an argument.

"No way it's my turn!" Lemmy retorted. "You got to drive your own Koopa Clown car the last time! Besides, Bowser Jr. was the one who held us up at the café demanding we'd get free food!"

"Oh please, just because he's the heir to dad's Kingdom he thinks he can get away with anything!" Lemmy rebuked. "I won the rock paper scissors game fairly, Larry!"

"Enough of your bickering!" Kamek shouted at the Koopalings, causing them to flinch. "Your father gave the three of you a job to do and he wants you to be able to pull off this plan!"

"Yeah! I'm not going to stand by and let you idiots mess up the plan!" Bowser Jr. chimed in glaring at his siblings.

"Yes, Kamek," Larry and Lemmy replied sullenly.

Kamek nodded silently thankful he'd been able to get Bowser's children to stop bickering. As the treeline of the Lost Kingdom came into view Kamek turned his head noticing a purple glow illuminating on one of the small islands dotting the Lost Kingdom.

"It doesn't matter, we're here," Kamek cackled diving down towards the small island picking up the Multi Moon with a grin on his face examining it from side to side. The Magikoopa ascended into the air until he was facing the Koopalings. "I believe we have the perfect bait to lure the plumbers out."

"Lure them out how?" Bowser Jr. demanded. "If you have any idea of how to do it, then tell us!"

Kamek grinned sinisterly in response noticing for the first time a thick black column of smoke rising near the edge of the jungle. A plan began to form in the Magikoopa's mind, one so brilliant it would be sure to eliminate Mario and Luigi for good.

"Come closer, young masters and I'll be sure to tell you everything."

Bowser Jr. along with his brothers piloted their Koopa Clown Cars closer to Kamek. The Magikoopa adjusted his glasses, not even bothering to hide the smirk on his face.

"Alright then, it's simple, that smoke cloud must be where Mario's airship crashed. I'm going to place this Multi Moon right in front of the ship luring Mario out of it and we gang up on him along with his wretched brother and that meddlesome cap."

"The plan is brilliant, Kamek!" Boswer Jr. exclaimed. "Even though I could've come up with it. Papa's going to be proud of me for coming up with the idea!"

Kamek rolled his eyes following the Koopalings to the Lost Kingdom holding the Multi Moon in the palm of his hand. The Magikoopa chose to bite his tongue keeping whatever remark he was about to make about Bowser's son before sighing following the Koopalings heading towards the Odyssey's crash site.

"Soon, those pesky plumbers will have more to worry about then escaping this place," Kamek said. "This will be the last time they will ever interfere in any of my master's plans."

* * *

Within the depths of the Lost Kingdom Luigi walked ahead of Mario and Cappy who looked around the area for any traces of the Odyssey until Luigi spotted a small cloud of thick black smoke rising into the air ominously.

"Hey Mario, do you see that cloud of smoke rising into the air?" Luigi inquired.

"That's where the Odyssey crashed!" Mario exclaimed. "I'll admit I was scared it probably fell off the edge of the plateau into the Poison Bog, but if there's still a smoke cloud then that means the Odyssey's right where we left it."

"I hope no one's found the Odyssey in the three days we were separated," Cappy said uneasily. "What if any of the local fauna, made their way into the Odyssey and stole the Power Moons we've gathered?"

"I'm sure no one hasn't found it," Mario replied hoping to reassure Cappy.

Luigi ran ahead towards the origin of the small black cloud of smoke leaking from the top of the Odyssey lying amongst the rubble, a small ladder still extended onto the ground. Approaching the ship Luigi noticed a small globe still spinning in place on the ship's deck.

"Mario, Cappy! I think I found the Odyssey!" Luigi's voice cut through the air. In no time Mario and Cappy hurried over to where Luigi was silently surveying the damaged Odyssey. Both of them sighed in relief upon seeing the Odyssey was indeed still intact.

Mario hurried up the ramp to the Odyssey entering the interior with Cappy and Luigi not too far behind him. The interior consisted of a small table with two chairs. Unlike the exterior of the Odyssey, the interior was intact. A sigh of relief escaped Mario's lips silently walking throughout the interior checking to make sure nothing had been lost.

"Wow, these are some nice souvenirs," Luigi said touching the T-rex statue his eyes filled with wonder seeing the T-rex stand to touch it marveling at the fake plastic skin before turning around to marvel at Mario's collection of souvenirs. Satisfied that nothing had been destroyed Mario and Cappy exited the Odyssey until he spotted the familiar glow of a Multi Moon hovering not too far away from the Odyssey.

It also didn't look like the Koopalings had arrived yet to claim the Multi Moon as their own. Unbeknownst to Mario, he was unaware of Kamek and the Koopalings watching him hidden in a tree with Kamek peering out waiting for Mario to grab the Multi Moon.

"Mama mia! What luck, I can't believe we found a Multi Moon!"

"Mario wait!" Cappy called out. "It could be a trap!"

Throwing caution to the wind Mario raced towards the Multi Moon leaping up for it with his fingers but much to his shock the Multi Moon was yanked out of reach causing Mario to land face-first on the ground with an oomph.

Mario pushed off the ground taking the time to spit out a clump of dirt and shaking his head from side to side getting rid of the taste of dirt in his mouth.

"Mario, I saw what happened, are you alright?" Cappy asked.

"I'm fine, Cappy, but I can't help, but get the feeling we were tricked," Mario replied.

A cackle split the air as Mario, looked up as he saw at Kamek coming into view holding onto the Multi Moon surrounded by the glow from Kamek's wand. Next to him, Boswer Jr., Larry and Lemmy were chuckling upon seeing Mario glaring up at them.

"My, my Mario, you wouldn't happen to be looking for this would you?" Kamek asked, with a knowing grin on his face.

"Give the Multi Moon back Kamek!" Mario cried out

"Oh, we found it first, and we're not going to give it up so easily," Kamek sneered "However, Lord Bowser doesn't want you to attend his wedding and he's given us orders to make sure you won't ruin his special day. Now then Koopalings, attack!"

Larry and Lemmy landed the Koopa Clown Car on the ground before jumping out running over towards Mario and Luigi. Bowser Jr. turned to scowl at Kamek before piloting his Koopa Clown Car towards Kamek glaring daggers at him.

"It's not your job to command my brothers to attack the Mario Bros! I was about to tell them to do that!" Bowser Jr. protested.

Kamek slowly turned around to face Bowser Jr. scowling. "Forgive me my prince, but I want to get this over with. Why don't you deal with Mario then?"

Bowser Jr. needed no prompting turning his attention towards Mario a scowl forming across his face before reaching down to press a small button. A small compartment opened on both sides of Bowser Jr's Koopa Clown Car revealing a pair of arms with boxing gloves attached to the end of them before piloting his vehicle towards Mario.

"Come here, Mario! I won't let you stop papa from marrying Mama Peach!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed.

"She's not going to marry your father!" Mario rebuked. "Peach should be allowed to marry whoever she chooses to stay by her side for the rest of her life."

Mario ducked, narrowly avoiding the stream of flame burning away the material along Mario's arms and causing the plumber to flinch feeling the blistering heat scorching his skin. He could feel Cappy pressing closer to him avoiding the stream of fire racing over the top of the Bonneton's head.

Rolling to the ground Mario saw Cappy's nervous eyes peering down at him. The Bonneton appeared to be unharmed much to Mario's relief, but from the shaking Mario could tell Cappy was uneased by the attack.

"Are you alright, Cappy?" Mario asked.

"I'm fine, Mario," Cappy replied. "Although I think we need to teach this brat a lesson."

The whoosh of air announced one of the boxing gloves was aimed at him as Mario jumped up over the boxing glove landing on the metallic arm running it before jumping onto Bowser Jr.'s head prompting an enraged scream from him.

Larry and Lemmy summoned yellow balls with stars painted on them sending them at Luigi. The green-clad plumber ducked down underneath the first ball before racing towards Lemmy's position before leaping on top of the Koopaling's head. Lemmy withdrew his arms and legs tucking them into his shell before charging at Luigi as the plumber leaped over the shell as Larry remerged from his shell glaring at Luigi.

"Hang on bro!" Larry cried out. "We'll take him down together!"

The pair of Koopalings glowered firing of more balls at Luigi. Mario felt a burst of pride seeing Luigi jumping over the pair of balls before landing on top of Lemmy's head jumping out of the way of Larry's assault.

"You'll have to do better then that!" Luigi called out before ducking another ball being hurled in his direction as he jumped on top of Larry's head causing the Koopaling to stagger. Larry scowled charging up his magic wand before firing off a blast of magic. The rainbow blast of magic struck the ground causing a giant ball to appear as the Koopaling landed on top of it rolling it towards Luigi who jumped over it before jumping of Larry's head again.

Kamek all this time had been silently watching the fight, at first, he was satisfied he wouldn't have to step in as at first, it appeared the Koopalings were holding their own against Mario and Luigi, but now it was clear Mario and Luigi were gaining the upper hand in the fight.

"Enough of this!" Kamek exclaimed. "I think it's time I present a special surprise to Luigi!"

Kamek began to mutter a spell under his breath waving his wand, the familiar rainbow glow illuminating the area as he swung it downwards as it struck the ground. The skies instantly darkened followed by a high-pitched cackle, the sound caused Luigi to shudder in fear for he'd heard that laughter before.

"Oh, no please don't let it be what I think it is."

Like something out of Luigi's worse nightmare several Boos materialized out of the shadows cackling all the while as they began to close in on Luigi causing him to shake instantly before sinking to the ground his hands over his head trying to block out the sound of the Boos laughter.

Larry, Lemmy and Bowser Jr. paused in their assault before chuckling in sadistic glee in seeing Luigi huddle in fear on the ground shivering all the while, as the Boos pressed in closer to the green-clad plumber.

"Now how do you like that green coward?" Kamek cackled. "I know you're scared of Boos. I remember how you used to cry when I showed them to you when you were a little crying baby."

Mario wasted no time running towards Kamek making sure to jump for Kamek. With one hand he reached up for Kamek's broom pulling it downwards as Mario leaped onto the broom beginning to walk across it towards Kamek. The smile fell from the Magikoopa's face when he saw the scowl on Mario's face.

A hand reached up for Kamek's broom pulling it downwards as Mario leaped onto the broom beginning to walk across it towards Kamek. The smile fell from the Magikoopa's face when he saw the scowl on Mario's face.

"St-st-a-ay b-back M-mario!" Kamek stammered. "I'll turn you into a Goomba if you don't!"

Mario scowled choosing to ignore Kamek's threat before he punched Kamek repeatedly. "This is for all the schemes you've helped Bowser pull over the years. And this is for kidnapping Weegie when he was an infant and for having the nerve for scaring him with those Boos!"

Kamek cried out in pain feeling Mario's punch connect with his nose, hearing the crunch of bones as Kamek howled in pain holding one hand over his nose. Instantly the Koopalings ceased their attack seeing the faint trickle of blood leaking from the Magikoopa's nose. With Kamek's concentration in maintaining the spell, the Boos vanished as Luigi slowly lifted his head glancing around the area looking for any signs of Boos before he heaved a sigh of relief getting to his feet.

"Fall back Koopalings!" Kamek cried out.

"No way Kamek! I- I mean we can all still fight back!" Bowser Jr. protested. "We can still crush those irritating plumbers once and for all!"

"Yeah, but if we retreat, Papa's going to be mad at us!" Lemmy chimed in fearfully.

"There is no other choice, young masters!" Kamek replied. "If something happens to any of you, your father would have my hide. There will always be another chance for us to enact our revenge on the pesky plumbers, I promise you. For now, fall back!"

Eager to obey Kamek's commands, Lemmy and Larry made their escape. Bowser Jr. hesitated slowly turning around in his seat making sure to scowl at Mario and Luigi. "One day I'm going to beat both of you and Peach will have no choice, but to accept my father's hand in marriage!"

Mario and Luigi watched Bowser Jr. racing after his siblings and Kamek until they became tiny dots in the sky as Mario heaved a sigh risking a glance at the Multi Moon in the palm of his hand before he turned around beginning to walk back towards Luigi.

"Weegie are you alright?" Mario asked anxiously for his brother's well being.

"I'm alright Mario. I'm a little shaken that's all," Luigi replied shakily reaching up to wipe away the tears on his face. "It's true what Kamek said. When I was a baby, he used to summon Boos to scare me and I used to cry all night. It's the reason why I've always been afraid of Boos. I feel like such a coward whenever they appear."

"You're not a coward Luigi," Mario said reassuringly. "Between the two of us, I've always thought you were the more courageous one of us two. Even if no one else in the Mushroom Kingdom or the rest of the world will view you as a hero, I will always see you as my hero."

Luigi smiled for the first time allowing Mario to help him to his feet as he gently hugged his brother. Luigi hugged Mario back as the brothers broke apart with Mario glancing down at the Multi Moon in his hands his thoughts elsewhere.

"Mario, we're going to pursue them, right?" Luigi asked.

"Of course, we are Luigi," Mario replied. "We're finally going to be chasing down Bowser and hopefully rescuing Peach. We've been trapped in this kingdom for too long. Also, Weeg, I recommend sitting down for the take-off. It's going to be a bit bumpy."

Luigi and Cappy hurried up the ramp to the Odyssey as Mario placed Cappy onto the globe, the Multi Moon sprang up from the globe heading towards the giant sphere as it was absorbed. In an instant, the damage inflicted to the Odyssey vanished as the ship's engine began to rev to life. Mario raced into the Odyssey as the ramp retracted back into the ship as the Odyssey rose of the ground as it continued to ascend into the skies. A loud whistle pierced the air nearly deafening Luigi before the Odyssey lurched off to the side before moving forward.

Mario ran to the window pressing his face against it noticing the Lost Kingdom growing smaller beneath his gaze. Luigi and Cappy joined him at the window looking at the rapidly shrinking Lost Kingdom as it vanished from view. It was over, they'd finally escaped from the Lost Kingdom, they were on their way at last so they were able to resume their pursuit of Bowser.

* * *

_Author's note. After all this time Mario with both Luigi's and Cappy's help has finally escaped the Lost Kingdom. I know it's been a long time coming, but it's a moment that's been expected to happen. As for the last two chapters things are going to take a bit of a different shift giving Mario and Luigi a chance to catch their breath since the next chapter will be focusing on Peach's escape attempt from Bowser's clutches. _

_The battle scene between the Mario bros against Kamek and three of the Koopalings did undergo a couple of rewrites. Originally I was going to have Kamek unleash a group of Piranha Plants, but after some consideration, I decided to implement Luigi's fear of Boos which I went with becuase it felt right for Mario and Luigi to have a moment showing of their brotherly bond. The scene with Mario getting revenge on Kamek for attacking Luigi in the last chapter is something that I wrote up in the original outline since I'd imagine Mario wouldn't take kindly to anyone harming Luigi. _

_As per usual, constructive criticism/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix /and reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. Thanks for taking the time to read this and have a great rest of the week and weekend. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note Hey guys, I'm back once more. Firstly I would like to apologize for the long wait when it came to updating this story. __Even though I'm still on my trip, I did intend to update this story sooner and why it took me almost a whole month to do so, I figured I should tell you guys what's been going on. What happened is that for the last several weeks I fell ill with a combination of a throat infection and laryngitis which lasted for over three weeks. It was one of the few times where I've never felt so sick in my life before, it left me drained and exhausted most of the time. _

_Recently as in the last few days, I've been feeling much better now. I just wanted to explain why this story hasn't been updated for the last several weeks. I apologize for the delay and thank you guys all so much for being patient. _

_With that being said, as usual, I want to give a thank you to TGN, SD321, and animegamefanatic for leaving reviews as always. Thank you guys so much for the support and thank you all so much for the support, and feedback which I appreciate it. _

_Also, I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who has either followed, favorited or left a view on this story for helping it reach over 17 favorites, 12 follows and for over 2150 views! _

_Well, I don't have a lot to say except I hope you guys enjoy the penultimate chapter. _

_Disclaimer Its the same as the previous chapters. I don't own anything. Everything used in this story belongs to Nintendo. I don't own any aspects of the franchise except the plot. _

* * *

Within the walls of Peach's room the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom sat hunched over the desk writing something down her eyes focused on the letter in front of her and writing out a message. The wardrobe's door were open with the Lochlady Dress hanging from a hanger. Tiara silently hovered next to the bedroom door trying to push it open only for the door to remain stubbornly locked.

"Well, the door's locked which means we have to wait for Topper then," Tiara said anxiously. "So, I know we're going to escape today, but how are we going to get out when the door's locked?"

"Don't worry, Tiara," Peach said setting the pen down. "Part of the plan is that we're going to wait for Topper to bring us lunch, then we find a way to escape him. Once we do, we'll have to contend with both the Koopalings, those Broodals and Bowser, in order to find a way to the control room so we can take control of this ship piloting it back to the Lost Kingdom so we can rescue both Mario and Cappy, so we can all go back to our respective kingdoms."

"Yes, I've been worried sick about Cappy," Tiara said a hint of longing creeping into her voice. "Its just that I'm scared about something going wrong with the plan. What if we're caught or worse, what if Bowser finds a way to foil our plan?"

"There is a chance Bowser will do everything in his power to keep us here as his prisoners," Peach said the thought had occurred to her. "But as I said before I refuse to give into Bowser's demand to marry him. There is one thing that works in our favor, Kamek's gone with three of the Koopalings and Topper usually brings our lunch right around this time. That's our best chance to escape."

Tiara appeared to be more at ease upon hearing Peach's reassurances. "You're right, it's just that I've been missing Cappy a lot. The two of us have never been separated for this long before and I can't help but be worried sick about him. I know you're concerned for Mario as well."

"Mario has done a lot for me over the years by coming to my rescue every single time Bowser's kidnapped me. I'm scared that one day Bowser will find a way to kill Mario right in front of me and what if I'm powerless to do anything about it? How would I be able to look Luigi in the eyes and tell him I was indirectly responsible for his brother's death? No, I'm not going to play the damsel in distress anymore."

Peach approached the door, lightly tugging on the handle hearing the knob twist indicating it was locked. At that moment the sound of keys being slid into the lock prompted Peach to rapidly back away from the door.

The door opened as Topper entered the room carrying a small tray beaming widely. "Open up Princess, ya lunch is here! Da Boss is expecting ya to eat every single bite along with a big smile for the wedding rehearsal today."

Topper moved towards the table setting down the tray before standing up and making sure to look Peach in the eye grinning all the while. "Oh, don't expect ya boyfriend ta come to da rescue. The boss told me he sent Kamek and three of da Koopalings to put an end to them."

Peach swallowed nervously upon hearing the news. She fought to remain calm as a small idea began to form in her mind.

"Well, there is one thing you can do, for me Topper," Peach said sweetly with a false smile on her face.

"Yeah? And what would dat be?" Topper asked.

Peach exited the room before heading to the other side of the door gently gripping the edge of the door frame tugging it slightly which caused the door to creak in protest at the movement. "It's just that this door tends to creak whenever it's opened from the outside and if it's not too much trouble could you please look at it?"

"Alright fine, this better not be a trick Princess," Topper grumbled. "I'm already in hot water as it is with the boss and he'll have my head if somethin' else goes wrong with da wedding preparations."

Topper approached the other edge of the door tugging at it lightly hearing the faint squeak before the Broodal cringed. "Well ya're right it does creak, but I don't see-"

Peach ran back into the room pushing hard against the other side of the door as it slammed into Topper with a muffled cry of pain pressing him right up against the wall. Almost immediately Peach ran out of the room with Tiara right behind her.

Topper pushed back the door moaning rubbing at his head as he gazed down the hallway spying the Princess and Bonneton fleeing down the ship's corridor. "Da Princess and her crown escaped! Someone get down here now!"

Peach paused upon seeing several Goombas running down the corridor intent on capturing her. Peach jumped into the air landing on top of them flattening them to the ground as they lay still on the ground groaning in pain.

"Ugh, do I have ta do everything myself?" Topper exclaimed in disbelief. "I'll have ta let da boss know what's happened. Our reputation as da best wedding planners in da world will be ruined if she escapes!"

Topper turned to run up the stairs leading to the ship's deck holding onto a faint hope Bowser would be merciful towards the Broodal for his latest failure, prospect Topper was dreading.

* * *

The late afternoon sun's rays filtered through the clouds briefly casting shadows on the deck of Bowser's ship as the King of the Koopas paced back and forth along the long white carpet frowning at the wedding display set up in front of him. It was a pristine white altar with several hanging baskets filled to the brim with flowers from the Soiree Bouquet.

Not to far away from the wedding display Ludwig, Iggy, Morton, Roy and Wendy sat in plastic chairs, looking bored as Wendy shifted impatiently, her claws wrapped around the basket's handle picking at the flowers in the basket.

The Binding Band had been placed on a velvet red cushion having been polished until it gleamed in the rays of the later afternoon sun. Rango, Spewart and Hariet were busy making the final adjustments to the display hoping it would meet Bowser's approval which Rango approached the King of the Koopas taking a moment to adjust his hat.

"So, boss, does everything meet your approval?" Rango asked. "Spewart and I've been working really hard on it since the preparations for the Mecha Wiggler have been completed, so we'll be ready for our invasion of the Metro Kingdom."

"It's perfect Rango! Man, you Broodals may charge a ridiculous amount of coins for your services, but it's all worth it!" Bowser exclaimed happily. "I don't even think anything else is going to go wrong with this wedding. Peach will be my lovely bride, which speaking of Peach she should be up here any minute now."

"Boss! Ya're up here right?!" Topper said running onto the deck of the ship as Bowser heaved a sigh.

"And there it is," Bowser grumbled turning to face Topper. "What is it now Topper? Don't you know not to interrupt a happy occasion such as a wedding rehearsal?"

"Well ya see Boss, the thing is, Peach, she uh well kinda escaped," Topper said nervously cowering in fear of Bowser's response.

"You bungling imbecile!" Bowser roared in pure disbelief. "I gave you one job and you can't even go five minutes without screwing it up! I'll deal with this myself! Morton, Ludwig, Wendy, Roy and Iggy go and find Peach now!"

"We're on it, Dad!" Ludwig said bowing low. "I'll head down below deck with Iggy, Spewart and Morton to guard the path to the engine room. Wendy, Rango, and Hariet will stay up on deck just in case the princess tries to come up here"

"No way am I helping her guard the entrance!" Hariet snarled. "She'd probably mess up everything and make things worse!"

"I share the same sentiments, Daddy!" Wendy protested. "There's no way I'm working with someone who called my earrings tacky!"

"That's enough bickering from both of you!" Bowser bellowed his patience gone. "Wendy, for once do as you're told! I'm heading down below deck myself! Everyone else is to stay up here in case Peach tries to escape!"

"Y'all heard the boss, everyone move out!" Rango cried out. The small group dispersed with Ludwig, Bowser, heading down below decks as the small group reassembled on the deck in case Peach appeared on deck.

* * *

Her breath coming in short gasps Peach hurried down the corridor her eyes darting around the room searching for the control room with Tiara loyal as ever hovering next to her. "Peach are you sure the control room is this way?"

"The control rooms on Bowser's airship is usually right up at the front of the ship," Peach replied breathlessly. "If we can take a left here then it should be down the corridor and we're one step closer to rescuing Mario and Cappy."

Peach's hopes of reaching the control room were soon dashed when she saw Ludwig, Iggy, and Spewart standing in a line with smirks upon their faces as they saw her approached with Tiara in tow as the Bonneton glanced at Peach anxiously.

"Peach, what do we do?"

"It's simple we'll split up," Peach whispered to Tiara. "You go one way and I'll go the other. When one of us finds the control room, we'll give a shout to let the other one know we found it."

"Alright then, please be careful Peach," Tiara replied before she hovered in the air fleeing down the corridor to her left as Peach turned to face Ludwig, Iggy and Spewart.

"You'll have to get past us first, Princess," Ludwig cackled stepping out from the shadows holding onto a magic wand grinning with Spewart and Morton appearing next to him. Spewart stepped forward with a chuckle that shook the room. "Ain't no escape for ya now! Here, this should stop ya from takin' another step!"

Spewart inhaled before opening his mouth sending a spray of purple liquid splattering the floorboards which the Broodal closed his mouth before leaping forward on the ground as Peach ducked at the right moment narrowly avoiding having Spewart land on top of her as she elbowed the Broodal in the small of his chest which sent him crashing to the ground.

"I won't give into Bowser's unreasonable demands to marry him," Peach rebuked taking a step forward towards the assembled Koopalings.

Iggy cackled at Peach's sentiment before stepping forward with a smirk. "Aww, the little princess wants to see her boyfriend one last time."

Iggy swung his wand summoning a Chain Chomp which was gnashing its teeth making a lunge at Peach. Iggy was yanked forward by the Chain Chomo's momentum. At the last moment Peach jumped into the air before landing on top of Iggy's head which sent him sprawling against the ground.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "As usual, I'm the one cleaning up everyone's mess," The Koopaling grumbled making a lunge to grab Peach who simply side stepped him stomping hard on his tail listening to the enraged bellow that followed her action.

Ludwig spun around to grab her only to narrowly miss, as Peach was quick to trip up Ludwig sending him crashing right into Iggy sending the two Koopalings to lie sprawled out on the ground.

"Sheesh, for having pursued this little lady for years, she's sure a feisty fighter," Spewart chuckled inhaling again spinning around in a circle getting purple gunk on the walls and on Ludwig and Iggy much to their irritation.

"Hey, say it don't spray it!" Iggy snapped at Spewart.

"Sorry, but that princess is slippery, no wonder your dad has a hard time keeping her locked up in his fortresses over da years," Spewart grumbled. "Ya father needs to install better locks on her door. For now though we need ta grab her!"

Ludwig scowled setting of in pursuit of Peach and swinging his wand sending of blasts of magic striking the walls leaving small scorch marks striking the wooden pillars. Peach hurried up the stairs hearing Ludwig's footsteps right behind her, but upon reaching the ships' deck the sight in front of her made her heart sink.

Wendy, Hariet, Rango, and Morton were waiting for her grinning sinisterly with Ludwig blocking the entrance his hands on the doorframe.

"Well, well Princess, you've got nowhere else to run," Rango said. "Now then, ya're gonna be a good little princess and head back downstairs since we have a wedding to prepare for, or else we'll have ta make ya go back down those stairs!"

Rango reached up for his hat flinging it towards Peach who jumped over it at the last-second landing on the center of the flower before being catapulted into the air as she landed on top of Rango the force of the impact sending him skidding across the deck.

Peach landed on the ground feeling Morton gripping her shoulder before spinning her around to face him. "Dad wants you to marry him. Morton will make sure you will be a good wife for dad."

Morton inhaled sending a stream of fire across the wooden floorboards, as Peach leaped over the flames landing on top of the Koopaling's head before she landed on the other side of the floorboards turning to face Hariet.

"Hold still Princess", Hariet sneered. "I just want to make sure that your make up will be perfect for today's rehearsal, it just needs a little explosive touch up!"

Hariet leaped into the air withdrawing into her hat spinning around in the air dropping bombs as all the while cackling sadistically. Peach ran to avoid the hail of bombs raining down on the floorboards in front of her and covering her eyes from the thick black cloud of smoke until she made her way out of the smoke cloud only to leap back from Wendy's magic blast.

"Hold still princess so I can blast with you with my wand!" Wendy exclaimed taking a step forward. "Besides, at least I know I can apply makeup better then someone who can't even hit a princess from high up in the sky!"

"I take offense to that remark!" Hariet rebuked. "At least I don't wear gaudy earrings that look like they came from the '80s!"

"Your hat makes you look dumb!" Wendy snarled.

Peach turned around noticing Wendy and Hariet trading insults with each other as Morton, Ludwig and Roy began to approach her with Rango limping towards them a scowl on his face.

"Grab her, Ludwig!"

Before Ludwig could even grab her, Peach hefted up her skirts breaking into a run down the stairs ignoring the Koopaling's footsteps. Only one thought lingered on her mind.

"Tiara, I hope you're safe," Peach said to herself. "We have to meet so we can escape together."

* * *

Tiara hovered down the corridor her eyes darting back and forth staring at the wooden planks before she spied the single large wooden door at the end of the corridor. Tiara felt her spirits lift upon seeing their one chance of salvation.

"I found the control room! Now I need to tell Peach so we can meet up and get out of here," Tiara said softly to herself.

The Bonneton turned around and began to hover back down the corridor when she saw Topper walking across the floorboards heading towards her. The sound made Tiara uneasy which she could barely see anything until she spotted movement from the corner of her eye.

"Gotcha!" Topper's shout alerted Tiara to Topper's presence as the Broodal made a grab for her as she flew out of his reach flying down the hallway only to find her way blocked by Bowser, grinning small spurts of flame flickering around his mouth.

"Nowhere to run little crown," Bowser grumbled. "Now hold still, I want you to at least look presentable to rest enough on Peach's head!"

Bowser roared swiping out at Tiara who ducked at the last moment seeing Bowser's claws digging into the woodwork leaving deep gouges. In her haste Tiara fled down the ship's corridor with Bowser in hot pursuit.

Tiara glanced over her shoulder seeing Bowser running down the long corridor running right towards her. Tiara turned around only to see she'd run into a dead end with Bowser looming over her the smile never leaving his face.

"Well, look at this, you have nowhere else to go," Bowser said. "You're the perfect bait I need to get Peach to come quietly. She won't want you getting hurt, I'm sure of that."

Peach hurried down the steps with Ludwig, Roy and Morton in hot purist. From the corner of her eye Peach saw the occasional blast of magic come racing by her face as she saw Topper sporting a black eye step into the corridor blocking her one chance of escape.

"Nowhere ta run princess!" Topper exclaimed gleefully. "Not when ya little friend's been caught by da boss!"

Peach broke into a run heading down the corridor as Bowser stood at the edge of the hallway one hand holding onto Tiara tightly the smirk never leaving his face.

"I'll stop, resisting, please don't hurt Tiara," Peach said. "I'll never forgive you for what you did to Mario, attacking the Cap Kingdom and robbing the priceless heirlooms from the other kingdoms. You're a fiend and I will never marry you."

"Good choice Princess Peach," Bowser said opening his hand which allowed Tiara to flee his grip hurrying over to where Peach was. Peach said nothing as she silently hugged Tiara.

"Morton and Roy, escort the princess and the Bonneton back to their room," Bowser said gleefully."The rehearsal will have to be postponed for now, since we've got to repair the damage Peach caused when her foolish plan failed. Ugh, this wedding is turning out to be a bigger headache then I thought it would."

Morton and Roy stepped forward about to take Peach by the arms before she shrugged of the gesture silently walking down the hallway with the Koopalings right behind her.

Rango hurried down the steps an anxious frown on his face. "Hey boss, sorry ta bother ya, but Kamek and three of your kids, just came back. I don't think they're bringing back any good news though."

Bowser heaved a sigh. "Alright, I'll go see what Kamek has to tell me. In the meantime, I want you to double the guard on the door and to have someone escort Topper when he delivers Peach's meal, so this doesn't happen again."

Topper let out a low sigh before turning to address the Broodals. "Well, ya heard da boss. We'd got a mess ta clean up."

Bowser nodded beginning to head up the steps exhaustion following him as he sighed again. Peach had proven to be more of a handful then he'd expected, perhaps he would have to find a way to keep Peach in line the next time she tried something like this again.

Peach and Tiara sat huddled together in the room their heads bowed with the latter silently sobbing as Peach sat down with her holding her close.

"I-I'm s-sorry P-peach," Tiara sobbed. "I- was almost there, but Bowser stepped forward and he blocked my every path and he caught me without even trying. Because of me, the plan was ruined."

"No, it wasn't your fault, Tiara," Peach said reassuringly. "I should've expected that the Broodals and Koopalings would even be able to work together. You're not worthless, not one bit, and there will be another chance for us to escape, I guarantee it."

Tiara looked up at Peach before she wiped her tears away with one hand. "Thank you Peach, you're right we can't lose hope, for if we do, then there's no point in going on. The best we can do is to stay strong no matter what happens next."

As she said that Peach glanced out of the window at the darkening skies with the silent hope Mario was still alive somehow. Peach felt Tiara silently hovering next to her. For now, the best thing both of them could do was to be able to hope for the best. A silent promise began to form in Peach's mind as she draped an arm around Tiara.

"I will never agree to marry Bowser," Peach said softly. "If he even tries to force the Binding Band on me, I'll do everything I can to reject it. I will never allow Bowser to seize control of the Mushroom Kingdom and my subjects."

Peach saw Tiara nod in silence before both of them stood up making their way across the room heading towards the window where the two of them gazed out at the pitch-black night skies with the moon high in the sky. For now all Peach and Tiara could do was silently wait and hope Mario would be able to defeat Bowser, so they would be able to return to their respective kingdoms.

* * *

_Author's note When it came to writing out the whole draft for this whole story I knew having Peach and Tiara interacting with each other was the side plot I came up with to give a little more insight into what their interactions would've been like which we didn't get to see much over the course of the game. The end goal for this story is to serve as as a midquel to Super Mario Odyssey as to why Peach rejected the Binding Band which Bowser tried to force on her. _

_While I do like Peach, I will admit I do want to see moments with her not being such a damsel in distress all the time where she would be able to stand up to Bowser to show that she wasn't afraid of the Koopa King while she waited for Mario to rescue her._

_ You guys will see both Luigi and Mario in the last chapter since there will be a couple of moments of Mario and Luigi bonding becuase if you know me, I'm a sucker for anything that focuses on the brotherly relationship between Mario and Luigi. _

_As per usual constructive criticism/thoughts and reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. I will see you guys soon with the final chapter. Thank you so much for sticking with this story right up until the end. _


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note. Hey guys, I'm back once more with the final chapter of this story. First of all, again I'm sorry this chapter is late and for not updating at all last month it's because I was still busy with my family on a trip overseas and when we came back we've spent most of our time completing the final steps to renovating our house since most of the work was completed. However, during the last week of October, I developed stomach pains which I had to go to the hospital and those stomach pains turned out to be appendicitis which meant I had to undergo an operation which went well and I spent over a week recovering from the procedure. _

_Again I apologize for the delay and I thank you guys for being patient during this time. _

_As always I would like to extend a thank you to TGN, SD321, animegamefanatic, Tsukimine 19, Luiasy fan 96, Crazy Mr. Luigi fangirl, Drones of Innocence and s3731997for leaving reviews and feedback on this story. I greatly appreciate any critical feedback I've received on this work. Also, to everyone who left reviews you have my gratitude for showing your support for this story and also for helping it get up to over 2700 views, nineteen favorites and fourteen follows!. _

_Thank you guys all so much. _

_Special shoutouts go to animegamefanatic, SD321, TGN, sunstar 989, BOOM fanfic- a -Latta, Wurmple, Keyblade Writer of the Dawn, Tsukimine 19, SkyDragonQueen 17, Raizir, Trimusica Dragon 009, Raizir, SpongeKrabsPlankton The Crazy Mr. L Fangirl, ElectricBlaster, Kitkatetester, MgFan 5 and ThatOneobessedlibnguist for leaving both a favorite and a follow on this story. I genuinely appreciate the support and a big thank you to of you guys sticking with this story right up until the end._

_Also, I want to give a special shoutout to EXRB, Cloudyskies 17695 and PKgamer for leaving a follow on this story. Thank you for the support since I genuinely do appreciate it._

_Well,with all of this out of the way I hope you guys enjoy the final chapter of the Bond between Brothers which has been a journey and now we've reached the end of it. _

_Disclaimer: Its the same as the previous chapters. I don't own any of the characters and locations since it's all copyrighted to Nintendo. _

* * *

The warm evening air greeted Bowser who stomped his way onto the deck noticing Kamek, Larry and Lemmy having arrived from their trek from the Lost Kingdom. Silently surveying his children and former babysitter the King of the Koopas narrowed his eyes upon noticing all three of them bore minor scratches from their scuffle with the Mario Bros.

Bowser stomped across the floorboards taking several deep breaths to calm himself upon noticing Kamek and the three Koopalings surveying the damage on the ship.

"Your lord gruesomeness, what on earth happened here?!" Kamek exclaimed in shock. "It looks like you had your hands full while we were gone."

"The Princess attempted to escape, but we were able to recapture her," Bowser replied. "She and that Bonneton are far more trouble then I expected them to be. The sooner I marry the princess, the sooner I'll have the whole Mushroom Kingdom under my rule, cause I'm awesome like that. On that note, you'd better have good news for me Kamek."

Kamek swallowed nervously his eyes darting about with several small beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow. "Well, you see your gruesomeness, we had the Mario Brothers at our mercy, but uh well, they kind of were able to defeat us."

Bowser groaned placing his head in his hands before sighing in frustration. "Of course they did, sooner or later they're going to crash the awesome wedding on the Moon I've poured my heart and soul into."

"It was all Kamek's fault dad, we had them at our mercy, but Kamek told us to retreat!" Bowser Jr. protested. "You should punish him for it!"

Kamek swallowed nervously upon noticing Bowser glaring at him. The irate Koopa King snorted unleashing a small bout of flames from his nostrils. "No, we've all been through enough chaos today. The Important thing is that Peach is locked away in her room. This wedding will proceed as planned."

Bowser turned around hearing the footsteps echoing off the wooden floorboards as Rango, Spewart, Topper and Hariet walking towards him. Rango removed his hat from his head holding, it between his fingers before clearing his throat.

"Excuse, me your majesty. On behalf of Topper, I reckon I should apologize, we weren't prepared for the princess to put up this much of a fuss," Rango said. "If I'd been in charge, I would've never fallen for such a trick."

Topper shrank back before straightening himself making eye contact with Bowser. "Boss I'm sorry for letting the princess trick me like dat. I promise ya it won't happen again!"

Bowser cast a suspicious look at Topper before heaving a tired sigh. "Well, the damage's been done already, so from now on, you'll have someone be with you when you bring the princess her meals, so this doesn't happen again, do you understand?"

"Crystal clear boss," Topper replied sullenly. "It won't happen again. I won't let ya or any of da other Broodals down."

"Yeah, yeah, so we're nearly at the Metro Kingdom," Bowser replied. "Soon, we'll be able to deploy the Mecha Wiggler onto the city and we'll use it to steal the power from the Metro Kingdom to power this ship to reach its final destination, where Peach and I will say our vows and it will be an awesome wedding!"

Bowser chuckled mirthfully pleased at how for once everything seemed to be going his way for once. He'd seen the look of defeat when he'd held that stupid Bonneton in the palm of his hand the way Peach had given in almost immediately to ensure her companion would be unharmed, it made the King of the Koopas happy with their services.

"So where are ya other kids then?" Spewart asked a hint of curiosity in his tone.

"Ludwig and Iggy are running the final tests on the Mecha Wiggler to ensure it's going to be fully operational," Bowser answered impatiently. "Wendy, Morton and Roy are repairing the damage Peach and her irritating crown did inflict on the ship during their pathetic escape attempt. Speaking of which, Junior, Larry and Lemmy, you three head down below decks to help your siblings clean up the mess Peach made while she attempted to escape."

"Yes, Dad!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed eagerly. "I'll be sure to make to whip everyone else in line to make sure your wedding goes off without a hitch and the next time that pesky Mario and Luigi try to ruin your wedding, I'll be sure to flame them!"

"Atta boy son, you're going to be a great ruler someday," Bowser said. "Now then get to work all of you!"

Bowser silently watched his sons heading down towards the lower levels of his ship before he turned his attention towards Rango.

"I want you to make sure nothing else goes wrong with this wedding," Bowser grumbled. "Can I at least trust you to ensure that everything will be ready when we arrive at the Moon Kingdom?"

"Of course everything will be perfect by the time we get there!" Rango reassured Bowser. "Besides, I'm sure da Mecha Wiggler ya've got yer kids workin' on will crush that interfering plumber for good."

"Oh, I'm sure it will. Ludwig is a genius when it comes to creating these machines," Bowser chuckled. "I'm heading down there now to make sure it's in perfect working condition when we drop it off as a present for those suckers in the Metro Kingdom. I'll leave things to you Rango, don't even think about letting me down."

"Yes sir, ya can count on us boss!"

Bowser briefly nodded acknowledging Rango's words before heading down below deck. The King of the Koopalings felt his claws dig into his scaly palm. This time no matter what it took, he would do everything in his power to make sure he would be able to marry Peach and to do everything he could to make sure Mario wouldn't be able to interfere in his wedding to Peach whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

Meanwhile in Peach's room, Tiara hovered next to Peach clad in the Lochlady Dress who was standing in front of the large mirror slowly examining herself from all angles. The small frown never left her face as the dress moved, the hem tracing the ground. Peach felt uneasy at being forced to wear the garment, this wasn't hers to wear. She had heard the Lochlady Dress was a priceless treasure of the Laker Kingdom and she could only imagine how the residents of the Lake Kingdom were mourning the loss of their prized treasure.

"It looks lovely on you, but at the same time it doesn't feel right," Tiara said forlornly glancing at Peach.

"You're right Tiara, it's not right, I shouldn't even be wearing this dress," Peach replied sadly "I wish we'd been able to escape from Bowser's forces. Like I've already said, Tiara, Bowser will never get his grimy claws on the Mushroom Kingdom, since I'll do everything in my power to protect my subjects."

Tiara nodded as though there was something else she wanted to say. The Bonneton had seen the way Peach's eyes lit up whenever Peach mentioned Mario's name with a faint blush on her cheeks. The Bonneton had concluded Peach deeply cared for Mario. Tiara fell silent until she felt the question she longed to ask came to the forefront of her mind.

"Peach, do you love Mario?" Tiara asked.

Peach froze caught off guard by the question her mouth opening in a small 'O'of confusion before she found the strength to speak again.

"I'm not sure myself, Tiara," Peach said uneasily. "I do care a lot for Mario, and he's come to my rescue many times over the course of the years. His kindness and determination in making sure both my subjects and I will be safe is something I'll always appreciate, but to me, he's just a friend, and I'm not sure if I love him. If I had to be honest he's just a dear friend that's all."

Tiara fell silent at Peach's words, feeling the awkward tension in the room as Peach turned to face her quietly.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any form of distress Peach," Tiara said faintly looking down at the floor.

"It's alright, Tiara, you didn't know," Peach reassured Tiara. "What Bowser never seems to understand is that you can't force someone to fall in love with you and then force you to marry them. I do cherish Mario as a friend since I know he wouldn't do anything so rash as to force me to fall in love with him. That's why I have faith in him in coming to rescue us."

Tiara nodded feeling at ease. "Yes, I know Cappy will be with him when he does so. Peach, I know I haven't had a chance to say this, but over the time we've been Bowser's prisoners I've come to see you as a friend and I know Mario and Cappy will come to save us."

"I'm glad to have gotten to know you too," Peach replied smiling. "I see you as a friend as well. For now, until Mario comes to our rescue, all we can do is hope for the best. I know you will see your brother again, Tiara."

Feeling reassured Peach walked towards the window silently placing a hand on the glass staring out at the pitch black night skies with millions of stars dotting the skies. Tiara silently hovered next to her as all they could do for now was to wait and hope that someday Mario and Cappy would come to their rescue.

* * *

Meanwhile high in the skies in the Odyssey, Luigi leaned back against the plush sofa, a small cup of piping hot tea in his hands. he glanced over at Cappy and Mario who were deep in conversation, a brochure spread out in front of them detailing several kingdoms in front of them.

"Honestly I'm glad we're out of the Lost Kingdom," Mario said thoughtfully. "Truth be told I wasn't expecting you to show up Weegie, when you did. I thought you were busy with setting up Luigi's Balloon world."

"I was," Luigi confirmed with a nod. "But when I saw you lying there on the ground injured, my heart just froze and the only thing that came to mind was making sure you were okay. You know seeing you lying so still on the ground, it scared Mario."

Mario tilted his head noticing Luigi beginning to tremble and picking up on his brother's distress.

"It scared me, it reminded me of the times when I saw you trapped in King Boo's portraits, twice in a row now," Luigi said softly his eyes beginning to well up with tears. "I was scared, I wouldn't either be brave or strong enough to save you. I was afraid I would prove my doubters in the Mushroom Kingdom right that I'm nothing more then a coward."

"Luigi, we both know that's not true," Mario said softly.

In an instant Luigi set down his cup of tea looking up to see a gentle smile appear on Mario's face who paused wondering what else he could say to reassure his younger brother. Looking at Luigi Mario remembered when they were growing up Luigi was often the shyer twin, having found it difficult to make friends.

"I know I've said this before, but after everything you've gone through in the Lost Kingdom, you proved you can be a hero," Mario said. "Besides, you were the one who helped the two Toads get me to the hospital. You also held your own against Kamek and the Koopalings. You're far more courageous then you give yourself credit for. Besides, you've taken on King Boo three times to save me and everyone else.

Luigi listed his head making eye contact with Mario's warm smile on his face as he nodded in Luigi's direction. Mario rose up from his chair as Luigi followed suit before he embraced his brother in a gentle hug feeling the warmth of the gesture as Luigi returned the gesture with no hesitation. The two of them broke apart as Cappy hovered near them a question beginning to form on his lips.

"So, Luigi what's going to happen with Luigi's Balloon world now? Is it going to be picked up at some point I assume?"

"Once Mario and I save Peach, I'll head back to the Lost Kingdom and retrieve it from the clinic where I left it in the hands of those two reliable Toads who I encountered in the Lost Kingdom."

"I'm glad to hear that Weegie," Mario said warmly. "I remember playing that game when we were kids. We did have some good times, especially when our mother and father used to join in."

The two brothers again fell silent as the only sound that could be heard was the gentle hum of the Odyssey's engines as the ship soared through the skies heading on its course towards the Metro Kingdom. Cappy looked down at the floor as though he wanted to say something until he let out a low sigh.

"What's wrong Cappy?" Mario asked concern for his friend evident in his voice.

"It's all my fault that we were trapped for so long within the Lost Kingdom," Cappy said softly. "I know you were hurt because of Bowser's attack, but still if I hadn't been so careless then we would've rescued both Peach and Tiara by now. I can only imagine how scared both of them must be."

Mario reached up to Cappy gently drawing the trembling Bonneton close to him drawing him into a gentle embrace as the Bonneton relaxed slightly from the plumber's gentle touch.

"We'll save both your sister and Peach once we catch up with Bowser," Mario said reassuringly. "Besides Cappy it wasn't your fault that buzzard brain caught you. We both know it caught us of guard and the important thing now is that you're safe."

"There's a reason Mario is the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom for several reasons", Luigi chimed in. "Besides we've teamed up several times to help bring down Bowser together. If anyone can help rescue your sister, it's him."

Cappy felt a small bubble of reassurance building up within his body at Mario's kind words as he felt nothing but gratitude towards the Mario brothers who were willing to help him rescue his sister along with Peach.

"Mario, Luigi, please do allow me to offer my gratitude for your services," Cappy replied happily. "In return Mario and Luigi, I promise to do everything I can to aid both of you in rescuing Princess Peach."

"Grazie, for your help Cappy," Mario said smiling warmly. "Besides, I have faith in Peach that she will be able to keep Tiara safe until we rescue them both."

Cappy couldn't stop the small smile beginning to spread across his face. Even though he'd known both Mario and Luigi for quite some time, their kindness warmed his heart which inspired the Bonneton to do his best to aid his new companions.

"Thank you both so much for everything," Cappy said warmly. "So, then how far away do you think we are from New Donk City?"

"Hmmm, let's see," Mario said thoughtfully. "Well, we should be a couple of days travel from the Metro Kingdom. With any luck we should be able to catch up to Bowser and hopefully rescue both Tiara and Peach."

Mario paused for several moments turning to face both Luigi and Cappy. On Luigi's face Mario saw the small nod his brother gave him.

"I'm glad to have both of you with me," Mario said softly. "I'm glad to know I won't be doing this alone. It'd also do Luigi some good to see the other Kingdoms along the way."

Feeling content with his brother's words Mario turned his attention towards the open window. Watching the grey clouds drifting through the night skies a small longing began to stir within his heart. He would find a way to rescue Princess Peach along with Tiara and bring both of them back safely to their respective kingdoms.

Resting a hand on the window Mario sighed gently. "Hang in there Peach and you too Tiara, you won't be in Bowser's clutches for much longer."

Luigi approached Mario, gently touching him on the shoulder. The gesture was appreciated which he knew in that instant Luigi would stand by his side lending him his aid in rescuing Princess Peach.

"We're in this together Mario," Luigi said. "Nothing on this planet, not even Bowser's forces will ever change that."

"I know that Luigi, you're my brother," Mario replied with a warm smile. "Besides, we both bring out the best qualities in each other."

Luigi smiled back at Mario touched by the warmth of his brother's words which he placed a hand on Mario's shoulder with Mario returning the gesture as the two brothers along with Cappy stared out the window of the Odyssey. If there was one thing Mario knew in that instant Luigi would stay with him through thick and thin no matter what would happen in the future.

* * *

_Author's note. Well after all this time. The Bond Between Brothers has finally come to an end. I will say this was an interesting project for me to come up because of a little what-if Luigi had arrived at the Lost Kingdom after Mario's failed rescue attempt to save Peach and from there this idea grew to form its own idea serving to expand on the scene where the Klepto kidnaps Cappy in the game which is why I decided to implement the idea during the drafting stage of this story having Luigi come to Mario's aid and the idea grew into a fic with both Mario and Luigi expressing their brotherly love and support for each other. _

_I know Luigi has mentioned King Boo has trapped Mario in portraits twice even though Luigi's Mansion 3 was recently released. To clear up some confusion, the events of this story taking place before the events of Luigi's Mansion 3._

_When it came to writing up this story it was my intention to create a side story focusing on both Peach and Tiara for a couple of reasons. One of the main things I wanted to focus on were the interactions between Peach and Tiara for a couple of reasons. The first reason was to give them a chance to have more interactions while at the same time I wanted them to develop a sisterly bond with each other. The second reason was to give Peach a chance to prove she's more than a damsel in distress hence the chapter where she and Tiara attempted to escape from Bowser and to also provide an explanation as to why she stubbornly kept rejecting the Binding Band when Bowser attempted to force her to put it on._

_As for Peach's feelings for Mario, I like to think she views Mario as a close friend since while she does care for him, it's more along the lines of having a platonic friendship with Mario. I know there are some folks out there who do ship them romantically, but I wanted to show Peach does cares for him as a friend in this story and Mario does view Peach as a close friend as well. _

_Well, on this closing note I want to thank all off you for supporting this story despite all the long delays, it's been a pleasure as always to write up this story and receiving feedback on it. As for future projects, I've got a couple of one-shots in the works. As always constructive criticism/ thoughts/ any accidental errors I need to go back and fix/ reviews are welcomed and appreciated as always. Until then I will see you guys next time._


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